Umbra Avengers
by PotCFan101
Summary: Set one year after Dark Defender, Andy Barclay and Frank Castle have seemingly moved on with their lives. That is, until Nick Fury approaches them with the idea to put together a team to combat the likes of Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, and other villains who have escaped Hell. Think of it as the horror version of Expendables Bruce Campbell pitched.
1. Prologue: Darkness Looming

_October 2019_

Darkness. An empty void of nothing. A dreamless sleep. That's what Nick Fury felt. Or at least, should have felt. But tonight broke that mold.

Fury found himself on the Helicarrier, but something was off. No one was on the bridge and if he looked out the window, all that could be seen was pitch black night.

"Hill?" Nick asked, looking around. "Agent Romanoff? Barton?" Nothing. Silence. Always the fearless director of SHIELD, Fury pulled out his personalized pistol and began walking down the corridors, but still found no one there. Fury attempted to contact anyone, from Agents Hill and Barton to even Tony Stark. Still, nothing.

"Dammit." Fury cursed, but then looked up, seeing what looked like a light in one of lab rooms. Nick paused, realizing it was Bruce Banner's old lab, back when they were searching for the Tesseract. After taking out a flashlight, Fury continued into the lab, where watched the screen flicker multiple images. Nick squinted his one good eye, making out some of the images. A hockey mask. A plain white mask with hair. A clawed glove. A man wearing a human face and wielding a chainsaw. Even more faces flashed by, until it rested on the image of a type of ebony obelisk, with some form of writing in the middle.

Just as Fury was about to step forward, he heard the metallic scrape of knives, and he turned around, just in time to raise his arm in defense. The knives slashed clean through his arm, and Fury fired several rounds at what appeared to be darkness. Then he heard the cackle.

"Bullets can't harm me, bitch!" That voice. Fury's blood ran cold. He's heard of him before. The man of people's dreams… or nightmares. "You're in my world now!"

"It can't be." Fury murmured, as a man stepped into the dim light. The man- or demon- sported a red and green sweater, an old brown fedora, and on his right hand was a glove fitted with four knives. That would explain the slashing. But the face was what got Fury the most. The man looked as if he was roasted alive, with burns covering his entire face. "Krueger?!"

"In the flesh!" Freddy Krueger cackled. "Time to give Stevie Wonder a twin!" Freddy laughed a sinister laugh and lunged, and Fury was, for once, stricken with fear to do anything.

Fury gasped awake in his safehouse, breathing heavily. He checked the clock next to his cot, and groaned as the red numbers read three AM. Nick then felt a flash of pain, and he looked down at his arm, seeing four slash marks. Fury grimaced, knowing full well that was Krueger's power. Unfortunately, as he looked past the clock, Nick found himself staring at a glass of water that was half empty, and right next to it was a bottle of pills prescribed by his trusted doctor and psychiatrist, Neil Gordon. The label read "Hypnocil", which was what should have caused Fury to have a dreamless sleep.

As Fury began pondering what was going on, he heard a buzzing in his SHIELD communicator. After three more seconds, Fury tapped a button to answer the call.

"Director Fury?" Maria Hill's voice exploded from the phone. "We have a problem."

"What is is it?" Nick asked, getting up quickly.

"The agent in charge of our Crystal Lake facility called in a half hour ago- Jason Voorhees has escaped." Hill answered. "We don't know how. The cryo-lab he was locked in was supposed to be under lockdown after that leak in 2010."

"And I just got attacked by Freddy Krueger." Fury grumbled. "Even with taking Hypnocil."

"Do you think they're connected?"

"Could be." Fury revealed. "Before Krueger attacked me, I was watching a screen that flashed images of him, Jason, and I think Myers and the Cenobites, among other supernatural demons."

"Should we call the Avengers?" Hill asked, urgent.

"Negative, they've earned a break." Fury told her. "But I have an idea for another response team…"

* * *

Alice Pierce's eyes snapped open, and she looked around, seeing nothing but white rooms and corridors. With a chill down her spine, she realized she was in Harrogate institute.

"Oh no…" Alice mumbled, and she began running down the hall, finding the office. Without a moment of hesitation, Alice threw open the door, only to scream at the sight of a burning corpse, while a doll with blonde hair laughed wickedly. Upon hearing the scream, the doll turned around, staring Alice in the eye.

"Come to admire your own handiwork?" the doll laughed. Alice shrunk back, realizing the doll was her, when she made the decision to transfer her soul to help save her aunt.

"Oh God. What's happening?" Alice asked, and she began backing away. Simply backing up was no use, as the doll with her voice pounced on her, causing the both of them fall out of the room.

"Welcome to your nightmare." The doll cackled, and raised a shard of glass. Thinking quickly, Alice punched the plastic doll in the face, before throwing it off of her and into one of Harrogate's padded cells.

"Aw, come on, don't you wanna play?" The doll asked, pretending to be upset. "You can't run away from your darkness forever."

"You're right, I'm locking it up." Alice admitted, slamming the cell door shut. "And if you're going to try to do what happened to my Uncle Andy, don't bother. I'm not ashamed for killing Foley, or any of those assholes who threatened my family or friends."

"We'll see how tough you are." The doll sneered. "You'll be cowering like a little bitch when they come."

"What?" Alice asked, shocked. "Who's coming? What's on the way?"

Alice woke up, repeating her question, while her Aunt Nica and Uncle Andy ran into her room.

"Alice, are you okay?" Nica asked, worried. "We overheard you talking in your sleep."

"Alice, did you have a nightmare?" Andy asked. "What happened?" Alice looked up at Andy, then at Nica, and back towards Andy.

"Something's coming."


	2. Getting Some Help

The next morning, Andy got up and went to work at his pawn shop, as usual. As he was walking into the kitchen, Andy noticed that Nica and Alice were already there, preparing breakfast.

"Aren't you going to stay for awhile?" Nica asked. "We're making omelets before I meet Karen at the Bulletin."

"Nah, I'd better get to work." Andy replied, checking his watch. "I'm already late." Without further adieu, Andy swiped an apple off the counter and left the apartment.

"Were you able to fall back asleep?" Nica asked Alice, who visibly tensed.

"No." Alice muttered. "I was wide awake after my nightmare."

"Can you tell me what happened?" Nica asked, sitting at the table. "Please. I want to help." Alice looked up at her aunt, before sitting down across from her.

"I was back at Harrogate, watching… myself, as the doll, burn Doctor Foley alive." Alice recounted the dream. "The doll and I got into a fight, which ended when I threw it into a padded cell. That's when it started saying that something was coming."

"Did it say what exactly was on the way?" Nica asked.

"No." Alice shook her head. "But I doubt it's anything good."

Andy was just on his way out of the apartment building when he heard a familiar gruff voice behind him.

"You're a little late, Barclay." Andy turned around, sizing up his old friend, Frank Castle.

"Hey Frank." Andy greeted with a smile. "How's life treating you?"

"Like I ran over its dog." Castle smirked. "You?"

"Same old. And Karen?"

"She's already at the Bulletin. Ellison wanted her to cover a story about missing weapons from the Incident. I'm on my way to the construction site now."

"Don't ever change, Frank." Andy advised his friend, and the two went their separate ways to work.

* * *

Nick Fury stood outside what looked like an ordinary house from the outside, but he knew better. Inside, it might as well be another safehouse facility, filled with SHIELD agents and guards. Nick took a deep breath, preparing for who he was going to meet, before he stepped inside.

It didn't take long to find who he was looking for, as the man Fury was searching was the only one in a wheelchair.

"Hello, Creighton." Fury called out, causing the paraplegic to stop and turn his head.

"Fury, you old bastard." Creighton Duke jokingly, wheeling towards his friend. "How's the whole saving the world schtick going?"

"I've hit a snag, and I need your help." Fury replied truthfully. "Jason's escaped."

"Well, shit." Duke muttered. "Figures that would happen."

"Yeah, and Freddy Krueger tried cutting me up last night." Nick added. "I think those two might be working together. At the very least, it's related."

"And what do you need from me?" Creighton asked. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not much help after that son of a bitch snapped my spine."

"I still have one good eye, you know." Fury rebuked. "But I don't need you specifically. I need those files I asked you to acquire for me years ago."

"Sure thing." Creighton grunted, and the two made their way towards a filing cabinet. "I always liked physical documents over these new digital articles. Much harder to steal, if you ask me."

"I'd agree to some extent." Fury replied, as Duke handed him the files. Before he put them in his jacket, he caught a glimpse of a couple of the names. Barclay, Andy. Williams, Ashley. Strode, Laurie. "Thanks."

"I'd start with Barclay." Duke suggested. "He's living in an apartment not too far from Stark, and runs a pawn shop in Hell's Kitchen. He's also not exactly keeping a low profile."

"Thanks for the tip." Fury shook Duke's hand, and left without another word.

* * *

"Thanks, come again!" Andy called out to the customer that was just leaving. Said customer simply grumbled something inaudible as he walked out. Andy was just about to go to the back, when he heard the door open. Barclay looked up, seeing a bald black man in an eye patch approach him.

"Who the Hell are you?" Andy asked.

"Name's Nick Fury. And you're Andy Barclay." The man replied. "I need your help."

"Shouldn't you be dead?" Andy asked, suddenly remembering him as the director of the organization of SHIELD, who also brought together the Avengers.

"You should know by your own past that nothing ever truly dies." Fury replied. "But we can talk about that later. Right now, something's coming, and I need your expertise."

"Oh no. Fuck no." Andy snapped. "I'm done fighting monsters, and I made sure they stayed dead."

"Listen here, Barclay." Fury growled, pulling several files out of his coat. "You ever heard of Freddy Krueger?"

"Who hasn't?" Andy replied. "But he's dead."

"You know better than anyone else, they always come back." Fury pointed out, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And that's not all. Jason Voorhees escaped one of SHIELD's black sites."

"That's your problem for wanting to keep him as a pet in the first place." Andy muttered. "Now fuck off. Why don't you call Iron Man, the star spangled soldier, or literal god of thunder?"

"Second time I heard that today." Fury grumbled. "They don't know what they'd be up against. You do. Besides, I need this done as quickly as possible, without it going public."

"What, you want some type of suicide squad?" Andy chuckled. "I'll pass." Andy was about to usher Nick out, until they both heard the radio playing.

" _-Reports coming in that a man with a painted white mask and a boiler suit is walking through Hell's Kitchen wielding a knife._ " A woman's voice could be heard through static. " _Police Captain Misty Knight has advised to keep a safe distance, as the description matches Michael Myers-_ "

"Myers. Wonderful." Andy grumbled.

"We need to go." Fury announced, picking up the files. "We can talk about this later-"

"Too late." Andy interrupted, staring behind Nick. Fury turned around, seeing the man matching the radio's description standing just outside the pawn shop. "Damn."

"Is there a way out of here?" Fury asked, pulling out his side arm and beginning to fire a few rounds. Unfortunately, the behemoth didn't even flinch, and he crashed through the glass door as if it was nothing.

"Yeah, it's through the back. C'mon!" Andy yelled, taking out a shotgun and firing at Myers' chest. That seemed to knock him back a bit, but Michael kept coming. With no other options, Andy and Fury ran out the back of the pawn shop, with Michael following at a walking pace.

The second Andy and Nick made it outside, they shut the doors, and Andy pulled out a bar of C4.

"What the Hell are you doing?" Fury demanded.

"It'll slow him down, at least." Andy explained. "I had an old friend help me on this. I have enough explosives rigged in the shop to bring down the entire fucking building."

"Aren't there civilians inside?" Nick asked, alarmed.

"No, I made sure of it." Andy told him, before pulling out a lighter and setting the tip of the bar ablaze. Wasting no time, Barclay threw the bar through a broken window, and then he and Fury ran as fast as they could away from the area, as the blast went off. The explosion still blew the pair back a few feet, and when Andy turned back, what was once his pawn shop was now a fiery ruin, with the entire building collapsing in on itself.

"Think you got him?" Fury asked sarcastically.

"No." Andy mumbled. "But it'll give us time to get out of here." With that, Barclay and Fury headed back to Andy's apartment, to discuss their plan.

* * *

While the sirens of a fire truck screamed louder and louder, one lone firefighter strayed from everyone else to inspect a far off area of the collapsed building, as he thought he saw movement. Without warning, a hand shot out of the burning wreckage of the pawn shop, and before the firefighter could even scream, his oxygen was cut off, and his neck was swiftly snapped. A few more seconds of digging, and Michael Myers pulled himself out of the rubble, his mind filled with rage. With his body barely registering the pain, Myers turned towards the direction that he somehow knew was right, the way the small voice in his head wanted him to go, and he continued his hunt.


	3. The Chosen One

Nica Pierce walked into the New York Bulletin and headed straight towards Karen Page's office.

"Nica, thanks for coming!" Karen smiled. "I need your help."

"What exactly for?" Nica asked, raising her eyebrows. "I'm not a journalist."

"Maybe not, but you do know more about anything unnatural." Karen reasoned. "See, there's this homeless man who showed up at the building about an hour ago, claiming he was a lord of Hell."

"Doesn't sound newsworthy." Nica grumbled. "Some crazy making up stories."

"But here's what is." Karen continued. "The man claimed that he oversaw the tortures of people like Charles Lee Ray and Freddy Krueger." Nica's eyes went wide. The homeless person could be lying, but Nica wasn't quite sure.

"Where is he?" Nica asked.

"Over in Ellison's office, come on." The two exited the small room, and made their way over to the chief editor's office, where they were met by Mitchell Ellison, and a bald man wearing a black trenchcoat.

"Karen, thanks for coming." Ellison greeted. "I just don't know what to make of his story, even in a world of superheroes and aliens."

"That's why Nica is here." Karen told her boss. "She's gone up against the supernatural before." Nica sat down in front of the homeless man, and began to question him.

"Who are you?" Barclay started, trying to read the man's face for lies. The man looked up, staring Nica dead in the eye, before he spoke.

"My name… is Elliott Spencer." The homeless man announced. "I was once one of the highest priests of Hell, and leader of the cenobites."

"You mentioned you oversaw the torture of Charles Lee Ray and Freddy Krueger." Nica brought up.

"I did." Elliott confirmed. "And Jason Voorhees, when he wasn't roaming the Earth. But now, after I was banished to this mortal realm eight months ago, the prison that I have foreseen has become vulnerable. The prisoners are escaping Hell, with Krueger as their ringleader." Just as Spencer finished, one of Karen's coworkers ran into Ellison's room.

"Uh, Mitch, you and Karen should see this." The guy said, and everyone left Ellison's office. In front of the Bulletin's main room was a television set, and it was showing a burning building on the news.

" _Witnesses report seeing a man appearing to be Michael Myers enter a pawn shop owned by Andy Barclay."_ The reporter could be heard saying. " _Minutes later, the entire building exploded, and it was a miracle that no one else was in it. Mister Barclay has not been able to reach out for comment, so far-"_

"Oh Jesus." Nica gasped.

"It has begun." Elliott declared, and then stared blankly at the television.

* * *

Andy Barclay and Nick Fury entered the old apartment, and after flipping the lights on, they sat down across from each other in the living room.

"And no one else is here?" Fury asked.

"Nica is at the Bulletin, helping out a friend." Barclay explained. "And my niece is currently at school."

"Then let's get started." Fury decided, as he pulled out the files. "Based on what just happened with Myers back there, Jason escaping and Krueger trying to murder me, I get the feeling this isn't the end. So, I'm putting together a team. And I'd like you to lead it."

"Why me?" Barclay asked. "I don't have an iron suit or a magic hammer."

"I've looked back on your time in the military, and I'm impressed." Nick revealed. "I believe your the right man for the job, given your background." With that, Fury laid down the files on the coffee table, while Andy looked down at the names. There were some that he knew about, but others, he had no idea. But they all had faced terrifying demons before.

Ash Williams. Laurie Strode. Tommy Jarvis. Kirsty Cotton. Sidney Prescott. Nancy Thompson, who was also declared deceased. All of whom who have had run ins with the supernatural.

"I'm working with all of them?" Andy asked.

"Hell no, just the ones you think you can trust." Fury quickly stated.

"Okay… Williams, Strode, and Jarvis." Andy told him, and Nick took the remaining files back. "And I'd like my friend, Frank, to be joining us."

"I understand that you trust the Punisher, but what makes you think I would?" Fury inquired.

"Because he shows a fierce loyalty to his friends." Andy explained. "Last year, when we were fighting Wilson Fisk and his Cabal, he took a bullet- sorry, energy blast- for my wife that would've killed her. Besides, if there's a zombie apocalypse, there's no better friend I'd rather have at my side than him, save for my family." Fury grumbled and looked down, seeing no way out of this. He didn't want to risk Andy calling quits.

"Fine, Barclay." Fury growled. "But if he even looks like he's going to pop off, you'd better neutralize him. Clear?"

"Crystal." Andy muttered. The two were about to leave, when Nica, Alice, Frank, Karen, and a bald man in a trenchcoat barged through the door.

"Oh my God, you're okay!" Nica said happily. "We saw your shop in flames-"

"I'm fine." Andy interrupted. "Shouldn't Alice be in school?"

"We thought you were dead!" Alice told him harshly. "I think that's a reason to leave." Andy made a small nod, not able to think of an argument, and instead, focused his attention on the bald man.

"Who's the bald guy?"

"His name is Elliott Spencer." Karen explained. "He claimed that he was a priest of Hell who tortured the many prisoners there, including Freddy Krueger and Charles Lee Ray."

"From what Karen told me, he got kicked out, and some of Hell's prisoners are escaping." Frank added. "I guess Myers is one of them."

"That makes more sense than it should." Nick Fury mused. "Which is why I'm putting together a response team."

"Right, like a mini Avengers?" Frank scoffed.

"More like a black ops unit." Andy offered. "And I'd like you with me for it."

"Wait, why?" Frank asked. "I've never faced any magical shit like you."

"But you're my friend, and I need someone to watch my back." Andy explained. "And I don't want to put my family in danger." Frank sighed, looking towards Karen, then towards Andy, and finally Fury.

"Barclay, you're my best friend. I hope you know what you're doing." Frank stuck out his hand. "But God dammit, someone has to make sure you don't die. I'm in." Andy grinned, and shook Castle's hand with his own.

"Excellent." Andy declared, and turned towards his wife. "I will see you and Alice again. I promise." Nica smiled, and she and Andy kissed for a short while, before Fury got them back on track.

"I'll leave you with those files, and I'll go get Williams." Nick told Andy, before turning to Spencer. "Consider yourself in the protective custody of SHIELD, Mister Spencer. I'll send an agent here to transport you to a safe and secure location. And Barclay, here- to keep in touch." Fury handed Andy a small communications device, before he left the apartment.

"So what now?" Frank asked.

"Time to gather the rest of our team." Andy replied, looking down at the files.


	4. Assemble

_Elk Grove, Michigan_

Fury had the SHIELD agent land their chopper on helipad, set up over the ruins of the town. It had been months since Nick visited Elk Grove, and he saw first hand the destruction that occurred when demons rose from the ground and decimated everything.

The moment Fury approached the roof's entrance, a guard dressed all in black stopped him briefly.

"Relax, it's just me." Nick said casually, showing a ring that had the letters KOS on them.

"Good to see you again, Nick." The guard greeted, before ushering the director inside.

Fury walked down a long hallway, ignoring everyone staring at him, and he found the room he was looking for. Nick paused, looking up at a sign that read 'Cryostasis', and walked right inside, where he was met by a woman with dark hair and a bionic arm.

"Fury." The woman greeted, and she bent down on one knee and placed a fist over her heart. "It is good to see you again."

"I'm not the chosen one, remember Lexx?" Nick told her.

"But you have achieved more than any of the Knights of Sumaria." Lexx pointed out, standing up. "You're friends at SHIELD also gifted me the arm, and for that, I am grateful."

"How's sleeping beauty in there?" Fury asked. "I need to wake him up."

"Of course. Right away." Lexx replied, and with a flip of a switch, the cryopod opened up, and a man much older than either knights stumbled out.

"What the Hell?" The man asked, then looked at his left hand, which showed bits of metal under the flesh. "Oh God, is this some type of Terminator bullshit?"

"Nothing of the sort, Ash Williams." Fury told him. "You've only been asleep for a few months."

"Where am I?" Ash asked, looking around. "Is this one of those government labs where they poke needles up your dickhole?"

"God, no!" Fury shouted. "We're the Knights of Sumaria. You remember that cell who helped you earlier this year to fight the Dark One?"

"Yeah, they were led by a guy named Drake…" Ash tried to remember. "No, no, Danny… no…"

"Dalton." Fury corrected Williams. "I sent him to assist you. We had our eye on her for a while, waiting to see her move. And then the rest of the Dark Ones came and summoned a deadite that would've brought the apocalypse, had you not stopped it. I thought they'd come back, but I suppose they know not to mess with humanity anymore..."

"Then you guys decided to freeze me until you needed me?" Ash jumped to conclusions. "My man meat's not at full length now!" Fury made a disgusted face, before continuing.

"In truth, I got the idea after seeing someone else be frozen for over seventy years." Fury muttered. Ash narrowed his eyes, squinting at the self proclaimed knight.

"Wait, you're that guy who runs SHIELD." Williams put two and two together. "Didn't think you'd be with these knight loons."

"Before I joined SHIELD, I started here." Nick explained. "I knew there were more threats than the Dark Ones, so I figured we would need a public organization. And I was right, seeing as how aliens invaded Earth in 1995…"

"Huh?" Ash asked.

"Story for another day." Fury changed the subject. "Right now, I need your help. Ever heard of Freddy Krueger?"

"That's the guy with the pizza face and claw glove, right?" Ash asked.

"Exactly." Fury confirmed. "I think he's planning something, and I'm putting together a team."

"Why not just find my old team?" Ash asked. "I don't know if my daughter is alright!"

"They're fine." Fury reassured Williams. "I've made sure they are protected. Besides, I'm not sure if your small band could handle the likes of Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Ash asked, confused.

"A couple days ago, Voorhees escaped from cryostasis not unlike your own." Fury recounted. "While he was frozen, he should've been in a… dream… state."

"So Krueger got to him." Williams shrugged. "And Myers is running around with them too?"

"Must be. He attacked Andrew Barclay and I earlier today." Fury mused.

"Barclay. I'm a bit of a fan of him." Williams commented. "But come on, a possessed doll? I can fight that in my sleep, pun intended."

"Regardless, you and him are working together." Fury said matter-of-factly. "Now, I have your effects at a bunker-" Fury heard his communicator buzz, and he instantly picked up.

"Nick, it's Jason, he's-" the guard never finished his sentence, and all Fury and Ash heard was a dying man's scream of agony, followed by a sharp snap of bones twisting.

"He's here." Lexx stated the obvious.

"We need to move." Fury stated, pulling out his Smith and Wesson. "Now." Ash didn't argue, and the two quickly ran out of the cryostasis room while Lexx stayed back. Nick and Ash quickly ran down the hall, but stopped halfway, seeing Jason walk through the doorway, a trail of dead bodies lay before him.

"Got anything that'll bring this fucker down?" Williams asked, while Fury checked his ammo.

"Unfortunately not." Fury grimaced, as Jason began walking towards the pair. "Plan B. When I say now, run like Hell." Nick ran full speed at Jason, shooting his pistol despite the minimal effect. Just as he was a foot away from the Crystal Lake killer, Fury screamed, "Now!"

Fury threw down a flashbang, giving them much needed time to distract Voorhees and make it to the roof.

"In the bird?" Ash asked, and Fury simply nodded. The two dashed towards the chopper, with Fury pausing to throw the dead pilot out of the cockpit, and the helicopter roared to life. Unfortunately, right when the air vehicle was lifting off the ground, Jason caught up, and he stuck out a single arm, grabbing onto the skid and holding on.

"Motherfucker, he's keeping us from going!" Fury yelled, and the helicopter began lowering back onto the landing pad. Without hesitation, Ash grabbed Fury's pistol and fired furiously at the hockey mask wearing killer, until Jason finally let go, and the chopper swerved in the right direction and away from Elk Grove.

"Holy shit, he nearly ripped us out of the sky." Ash mumbled, staring at Fury. While Nick was busy flying, he reached into his jacket, giving Ash a certain dagger with a skull on the end.

"Well, he is a deadite…" Fury muttered, and the chopper continued its flight.

* * *

 _Haddonfield, Illinois_

Frank exited his truck and headed towards the high school, looking at Laurie Strode's file one last time. Castle had no idea where he'd find the sole survivor of Michael Myer's killing spree, but luckily with the help of David Lieberman, he discovered Strode has a granddaughter who frequents the Haddonfield school.

"Let's hope you were right, Micro." Frank murmured, checking the photo of the teenage girl, and continued towards the building. By this time, it should have been around when school was ending, and kids were heading out the doors. After searching through several faces, Frank found who he was looking for. The granddaughter, Allyson Nelson, was already walking down the sidewalk, presumably heading back home, while a classmate began following her. Frank started to walk in their direction, and as he listened to their conversation, it sounded like the guy was hitting on Allyson.

"C'mon, Ally, we already got the party set up! We just need to get booze, then we'll be set!"

"Give it a rest, Jake. I'm not in the mood this year."

"Aw, you got a boyfriend?" The guy sounded disappointed. "Or is it because your crazy grandma's brother killed your dad?"

"For the last time, he wasn't her brother!" Allyson yelled. "Don't you ever mention that again!" Allyson started to pick up the pace, when Jake grabbed her arm.

"Hey, I was just kidding." Jake said sarcastically. Before either teens said anything else, Frank made his presence known.

"Hey asshole, she said no." Frank growled. Jake turned around, clearly insulted.

"Mind your own damn business, old man." Jake tried to throw a right hook at Frank, but the former marine easily ducked, and clocked the kid in the jaw. As Jake yelled in pain, clutching his jaw, Frank knelt down to his level.

"Get the Hell out of here." Frank warned. "Or that jaw will be the least broken bone." Jake's eyes widened in fear, and he quickly scurried off.

"Thanks for getting rid of that creep, but who are you?" Allyson asked.

"I need to see your grandmother." Frank ignored the girl's question. "Strode, right?"

"Who's asking?" Frank turned around, seeing a woman with long white hair and thin rimmed glasses.

"Miss Strode?" Castle asked, noticing Laurie raise an eyebrow.

"And you're Frank Castle. The Punisher." Laurie told him. "What do you want?"

"Someone needs your help." Frank declared. "Can we talk?"

* * *

Frank, Laurie, and Allyson entered the Nelson residence, being met by Allyson's mother, Karen.

"Nice home." Frank complimented. "Kinda reminds me of my own family…"

"Mom, who is this?" Karen asked, curious at the sudden stranger in her house.

"This is Frank Castle." Laurie told her daughter. "Also known by the media as the Punisher-"

"I know that part." Karen interrupted. "But why is he here?"

"Because I need your mother's help." Frank said. "You are her daughter, right?"

"The one and only." Karen mumbled. "While you're here, can I get you some coffee?"

"No, ma'am, it's fine." Frank tried to say, but Laurie's daughter had already handed up a hot cup full of coffee. "Uh, thanks."

"You want to sit down?" Laurie suggested, and she and Frank sat across from each other on the couches. "Now what's this about?"

"You ever heard of SHIELD?" Frank asked.

"Yes, they brought together Tony Stark, the Hulk, that guy with the American flag shield, and the god of thunder to fight aliens in New York." Laurie folded her arms. "What of it?"

"The guy in charge, Fury, believes that something is coming." Frank explained. "That urban legend, Krueger, he's back. According to Fury, that hockey mask wearing bastard escaped whatever black site they put him in."

"Sounds like a curiosity killed the cat situation." Karen snorted, and took a swig of her coffee.

"What does this have to do with me?" Laurie asked.

"Fury thinks it's a bright idea to put together some type of black ops team to fight those people." Castle continued. "And given your experience with something similar to Voorhees, he sent me to pick you up."

"Michael Myers and Jason are nothing alike." Laurie quickly said. "For one, Michael's dead." Frank looked at her quizzically, before shaking his head.

"No, he's not." Castle announced. "One thing I learned in the marines, if you don't see a body, you can't confirm the kill."

"Well, how do you know he's alive?" Allyson asked. "My grandma burned down her house- with him inside!"

"Because my friend collapsed an entire building on top of him just this morning!" Frank revealed. "And the police and fire department couldn't find his body either."

"Who's your friend?" Laurie asked.

"Andy Barclay." Castle replied.

"The kid who claimed his doll was alive?" Karen spoke up, but was quickly hushed by Laurie.

"It is possible, after everything I've seen, and what the world has seen." Laurie told her daughter. "After all, it was just a year ago that half of everyone we knew turned to dust before our eyes… then were eventually brought back."

"If Grandma does go with you, what will happen to Mom and I?" Allyson asked, worried.

"If Fury hasn't already, I'll make sure you're both protected." Frank promised. "If she agrees."

"If my family will be safe, then yes." Laurie said, standing up.

"Done." Frank stood up as well, and as the two headed for the door, he pulled out a burner phone. "I'll let Fury know right away."

* * *

 _Newt, Texas_

Andy walked through the small town of Newt, searching for the hospital. Eventually, he found it, and after pulling out the file one last time, he entered the building.

"How can I help you?" The blonde haired receptionist asked in a bubbly voice.

"I'm looking for one of your ECPs. Tommy Jarvis?" Andy asked.

"Actually, he's right behind you." The receptionist said, pointing behind Barclay. Andy turned around, seeing a much older man in a standard paramedic uniform, and with gray hair that had hints of blonde in it.

"What do you want to know for?" Tommy asked.

"Well, I was hoping we could talk, maybe have a drink." Andy told him. "First round's on me."

* * *

"So what's this about?" Tommy inquired, as he and Andy grabbed their drinks at the local bar.

"Nick Fury has tasked me with recruiting you. He's putting together a team-" Andy started to say, but Jarvis cut him off.

"Oh no. I'm not doing this bullshit." Tommy told Andy. "If this has anything to do with Jason Voorhees, count me out. There's a reason I moved all the way to Texas."

"Wasn't there a cannibalistic serial killer here?" Andy pointed out. "Look, you're the only one who has survived Jason more than once. We need you."

"Haven't you heard? That entire family has been dead since '86. Now find someone else." Tommy gulped down his drink, then stood up to leave. "Thanks for the shot."

"Hold up." Andy got up as well, and stood in front of Jarvis. "Look, I know what it's like to have your childhood ripped from you."

"I know that." Tommy revealed. "You fought a possessed doll from the 80s to 90s, then you joined up with the Marines."

"How do you know that?" Barclay asked, blinking in surprise.

"I was in De Silva's squad." Tommy admitted. "She used to tell stories about you two all the time. No one except for me believed her about Chucky."

"Jarvis, please." Andy tried again. "No one knows Jason like you. Same with Laurie Strode and Myers."

"Fuck off, get someone else to clean your mess." Tommy spat, and before Andy could say anything, he exited the bar. Unfortunately, as soon as he left, he heard people screaming, and Tommy looked to his right, seeing a man with a chainsaw and wearing a human face running full speed towards him.

"That's not possible." Tommy said out loud, backing up over a newspaper stand and falling. The giant of a man approached Jarvis, raising his chainsaw, but then a shot rang off, and the man clutched his shoulder. Tommy looked over, noticing that the shot was fired by Andy, who was now walking towards Jarvis.

"Get away from him, or I will blow your head off." Andy threatened, his tone as cold as ice. The man with the chainsaw stepped forward, and Andy was about to fire again, the monster pulled out a large mallet and threw it at Barclay. Thinking quickly, Andy dove out of the way, pushing Tommy to the side while he dodged, but when he got back up, the man with the face mask could be seen running off into the nearby fields.

"Holy shit." Tommy murmured. "That thing is back."

"Fucking terrific." Andy grumbled, turning on his communicator. "Fury, I found Jarvis, but we were attacked by Leatherface. Guess he escaped Hell with everyone else, and Krueger's gotten to him."

"Dammit." Fury swore. "Head over to the Dollhouse bunker in Hackensack, New Jersey. We'll all meet up there."

"Got it." Barclay confirmed, before switching off. "You coming, Jarvis?"

"I am now." Tommy shrugged. "I kinda owe you for saving my life."

"Consider helping me as repayment." Andy grunted, while he and Tommy began walking back towards a quinjet he borrowed from Fury. "Let's get to work."


	5. Doctor's Appointment

_The Dollhouse_

Andy and Tommy walked into the briefing room of the bunker, where Nick Fury, Ash, Frank, and Laurie were already waiting for them.

"What kept you?" Frank asked, constantly taking apart and putting back together a pistol.

"Didn't Fury say? We got attacked by that human face wearing crazy." Andy grumbled, as everyone sat down.

"There's gotta be something else to this, right?" Laurie asked, distrusting Fury. "You can't possibly be grabbing us just because some of our enemies have teamed up."

"It could just be that." Fury admitted. "For right now, I'm not sure if Krueger and his friends want something."

"Aside from fucking shit up? Not much." Ash piped up while smoking a blunt.

"You brought us here for a reason." Andy pointed out, looking at Nick. "You should have known that Krueger was back before you began recruiting us."

"You're… you're right." Fury revealed. "I had a nightmare the other day, where I was walking through the old helicarrier. I approached one of our holo screens, where it showed the images of Freddy, Jason, Michael, among others. Right before Freddy attacked me, I saw something… it looked like a tablet."

"Think you can draw it?" Tommy asked. Instead, Nick shook his head.

"No, the image flew by too fast." Fury muttered. "But I have a device here where I can see it again." Fury got up, and was followed by everyone else into another room, showcasing a type of machine with a flat surface and a circular piece. The ring appeared to require someone to lay their head in it.

"What's this?" Andy asked, having never seen anything like that before.

"It's called the Theta Brain-Wave Frequency machine." Fury explained. "Theta-Wave for short. It can scan my memories, but after a few tweaks from one of my best agents, Jemma Simmons, it can also access previous dreams."

"Where'd you get this?" Ash asked.

"We picked it up from a terrorist organization named Centipede." Fury continued. "After the Playground facility was destroyed, this was salvaged and brought here." Nick finished speaking, and with a flick of a switch, he laid onto the cold metal table, while the machine scanned his brain waves. A small screen flashed on the side, and Andy looked closely. Even with the pictures being small, Andy could still see the faces of Myers, Krueger, and Voorhees, before the tablet came up. Without hesitation, Andy hit a button that he correctly guessed would freeze the image, and it was indeed a tablet, with blood red writing.

"There!" Andy exclaimed, pointing to the artifact. "Does anyone know what it is?"

"I've seen a lot of weird shit, kid, but not that." Ash shrugged, while Tommy and Laurie shook their heads as well.

"Do you still have that book?" Frank asked. "Maybe that'll shed light on what the Hell that is."

"Unfortunately not." Ash said sadly. "The Dark Ones took the book back before summoning that mother fucker of a demon. Kinda wish they left it behind before skipping town."

"So great, there's no way to figure this shit out?" Laurie asked, frustrated.

"Not necessarily." Ash quickly said. "When I went back in time to the Middle Ages, there were three books I had to choose from. Now, there's a chance that they're different copies with different curses, should I choose the wrong ones…"

"Got an idea where to find them?" Tommy asked.

"Nada." Ash smirked. "Hey, it's been around a thousand years, and I've only seen one of them."

"So back to square one." Andy muttered, kicking the machine.

"No we're not." Fury told everyone. "I think I know someone who can help." Fury took out a card and gave it to Andy, who stared at the inscription.

"We're getting a wizard's help?" Andy squeaked in surprise, and laid the card on the table. While Andy and Fury began to leave the bunker, everyone else looked down to see what was inscribed. Once they did, they all knew who they were visiting.

 _177A Bleecker Street_

* * *

Fury, Andy, and the team arrived at the address that was on the card, ready to meet the sorcerer supreme.

"You sure this is the place?" Ash asked, and Laurie slapped a can of Shemp's beer out of his hand.

"Maybe you should leave the talking to us." Fury suggested, and he began knocking on the door. After the third knock, the group found themselves transported inside immediately, where a man in a blue tunic and red cloak descended a staircase.

"Strange." Fury greeted.

"Hello Fury." Doctor Strange replied, and looked over at everyone else. "I see you brought some friends. Don't bother to introduce yourselves, I already know who you all are."

"Do you know why we're here?" Tommy asked.

"I have an idea." Strange said. "I have been having these visions of that nightmare demon and some type of tablet recently."

"Got an idea what the tablet is, and how to find it?" Frank inquired.

"It appears to be a much darker, ancient form of magic I do not know of." Strange confessed. "However, I believe the answer can be found in Mister Williams' Necronomicon-"

"Can't happen." Laurie interrupted. "The dumb bastard lost it last year."

"There are three separate copies." Strange revealed.

"Called it." Ash smirked, and finished his beer.

"The first one, the most known, is in a region of Hell." Strange listed off. "Indeed, it was taken by the Dark Ones. The second copy, now going by name of the Darkhold, is also in Hell, left there by the most recent spirit of vengeance."

"Robbie Reyes." Fury realized. "Two years ago, Agent Coulson's team was assisted by the Ghost Rider in destroying a murderous LMD."

"He can be found in Los Angeles, taking care of his brother." Strange continued. "The final copy has changed dimensions every few hundred years, but it can be found in a suburban home in Oak Grove, Minnesota, known as the Gkruoolian Tome of Infinite Evil."

"I also know a colleague in London who might know of the tablet." Fury spoke up. "I'd suggest we split up into several teams. One will locate Reyes, another will travel to Minnesota. And someone's coming with me to London."

"I'll go." Frank offered. "Always wanted to go there. Besides, with any luck, I'll see Red."

"And I can travel to Oak Grove." Ash said. "I met the family there. Nice kids, but one broad's not the sharpest drawer, and the other's a bit of a downer. They might not like me, but I'll figure something out."

"In that case, I'm coming too." Andy volunteered. "Maybe I can get them to trust me."

"I guess that leaves Jarvis and I to head to the City of Angels." Laurie muttered.

"If you're all ready to go, I can transport you to your desired locations." Doctor Strange announced, using his sling ring to create three inter dimensional portals. Fury nodded, shook the doctor's hand, and he and Frank walked through the gateway and found themselves in the middle of London. The other two pairs followed suit, finding themselves in the places they needed to be.

* * *

 _Hell's Kitchen_

Alice woke up to find herself walking through a darkened alley in New York, with not a single light. The wind began picking up, and she attempted to conserve heat by wrapping her arms around herself and pressing against one of the building's walls.

"What the Hell is happening?" Alice asked out loud. She was expecting silence as an answer, but was horrified when she heard a familiar cackle. "No, God, no…"

"You didn't really think you locked me away, did you?" The Alice doll cackled, appearing right in front of Alice when she looked up. "And now, it's time to play." The doll pulled out a knife and jumped up, slashing the girl's wrist and creating a deep gash across her arm.

Alice screamed awake, and not even a minute later did Nica run into her room, throwing on the light with a terrified look on her face.

"Alice, are you okay?" Nica asked. "Another nightmare?"

"Yes." Alice sobbed. "But it felt real…" Nica frowned, looking down.

"What happened to your arm?" Nica asked, worried. Alice's eyes widened in shock, and looked down, seeing a crimson stream of blood flowing freely from her forearm.

"Oh, shit…"


	6. Road Trips

_Los Angeles_

"Ever been here?" Tommy asked, as he and Laurie walked down the streets of LA.

"Only once, back in 1998." Laurie replied. "I had wanted to start a family here, but it just didn't work. After my first divorce, I moved back to Haddonfield, where I raised Karen."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Tommy said solemnly, and they kept walking. After a few more minutes, Jarvis tried to discuss another subject. "What do you think about all this? Nick Fury bringing us in to help save the world?"

"I'm not really into the whole world saving thing. It gets a bit big." Laurie shrugged. "Still don't get why he didn't just call Stark or the old man with the shield. Hell, he could've just had that Doctor Strange guy figure this shit out. Not to mention he pulls in a couple kids that can't fathom what we've seen."

"You mean Barclay and Castle?" Jarvis asked, taken aback by Strode's bluntness. "They've seen terrible shit. Andy's childhood was torn apart when his doll just got up and murdered people! Frank watched his entire family get slaughtered in front of him!"

"Yet the big bad Punisher still hasn't seen the darkest side of this world." Laurie scoffed. "Neither has Andy. Sure, they've gone up against terrorists, traitors they thought were friends, and crime lords, but at the end of the day, they're just human. And all Barclay did was struggle to kill a children's toy for three decades." The pair stayed silent after that, and they approached Reyes' home. Tommy knocked three times, and the door was answered by a kid in a wheelchair, with a man in his mid-twenties next to him, wearing a black leather jacket that had white stripes running down the front.

"What do you want?" The man dressed in leather asked gruffly. Before Tommy could introduce himself, he was cut off. "I know who both of you are. Now what do you want?"

"Robbie Reyes?" Laurie spoke. "We need the Darkhold." Robbie glared at her, before turning to his brother.

"Gabe, give us a minute." Gabe nodded, and he wheeled himself inside, while Robbie shut the door. "Why do you want that damned book?"

"We were sent by Nick Fury and SHIELD to borrow it." Tommy explained. "We're trying to search for a powerful artifact in the form of a tablet, and we were hoping the book would shed light on what it is."

"SHIELD… are Daisy and Coulson with you?" Reyes asked hopefully. When Jarvis shook his head, Robbie added, "Either way, I don't know where it is."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Laurie asked angrily. "You're the one who hid it!"

"I sent the book to Hell. It's not like that place is a straightforward path." Robbie told her. "Just like Earth, there are different areas, governed by different demons. The last time I checked, the Darkhold wasn't where I left it." Without another word, Robbie slammed the door in the pair's faces.

"Well, this was a fucking waste of time then." Laurie snorted, and she turned on her heel. The minute she did, Laurie and Tommy came face to face with what looked like a rotting corpse, with stitches all over his body and scars on his face.

"Is that-" Tommy began to say, but was cut off.

"Frankenstein's monster." Laurie gasped. "I thought he was a myth."

"After everything we've seen?" Tommy asked, beginning to run up towards the monster. Unfortunately, when Jarvis tried to attack the man-made zombie, the creature barely flinched when he was punched or kick. Once Tommy realized he couldn't take the monster on in hand to hand, he was picked up by the throat and thrown at Laurie, causing both of them to fall to the ground.

"You fools." The monster bellowed. "I have lived longer than either Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers, and am stronger than both of them combined!"

"Why are you doing this?" Tommy groaned. "What do you have to gain?"

"Krueger has promised me a world where I no longer have to hide from the likes of humans." The monster confessed. "Soon, it will be you who hides!" The monster was about to step forward, but a chain that was seemingly on fire shot out, wrapping around the creature's body. Tommy and Laurie looked behind them, watching Robbie Reyes held onto the chain, pulling the monster forward.

"You think you're the first abomination I've destroyed?!" Robbie roared, and his face appeared to burn away into a flaming skull. The Ghost Rider let loose a whole, grabbing Frankenstein's monster and began burning him alive. The monster screamed in agony, remembering his fear of fire, as the Rider picked him up and threw him onto the ground, where the body exploded. By the time the smoke cleared, the Ghost Rider was gone, Reyes was back, and all that remained of the creature was a pile of smoldering bones.

"You brought that monster to my home." Robbie pointed his finger accusingly. "Get out!"

"Reyes, wait-" Laurie was about to say, but she noticed Reyes' eyes burning with an unnatural fire.

"Get. _Out._ "

Tommy and Laurie complied, quickly walking away from Robbie's home, and contacted Fury.

"Nick, LA was a bust." Tommy informed the Director of SHIELD. "Robbie lost the Darkhold, then we were attacked by Frankenstein's monster."

"I'm afraid this would happen." Fury could be heard muttering. "The monsters of older times of returning…"

* * *

 _London_

Frank and Fury walked through the streets of London, eventually stopping at a Natural History Museum. Fury looked up, noticing it was night time, and by now, there was a full moon.

"You sure this is the place?" Castle asked.

"Of course." Nick simply replied. "My colleague, Henry, runs this place. He and I go way back." Fury and Castle entered the museum without warning, where they were quickly met by a bearded man in a suit, wearing only one glove.

"Welcome back, Nicholas." The man greeted. "Stephen called ahead."

"It's good to see you again, Henry." Fury replied, shaking the man's hand.

"Who the Hell is this?" Frank asked, causing the other two men to look at the ex marine.

"Forgive me, allow me to introduce myself." Henry said. "My name is Doctor Henry Jekyll. Welcome to Prodigium. Think of us as a brother organization to Fury's SHIELD, but while they are more public with threats such as aliens, we hide in the shadows in order to combat ancient, more supernatural evils."

"Speaking of, we need to access your records and library." Nick got down to business. "That dream demon, Krueger, has returned, and he's after something. It's some type of obsidian tablet, written in blood."

"Of all the artifacts I have researched, I know not of that one." Jekyll admitted. "However, I can direct you to any of Prodigium's resources."

"We appreciate that, but we just need to see the Book of the Dead." Fury told his friend, then he and Frank walked through the museum towards a display case, housing a book made of obsidian.

"This is the book?" Frank asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It is." Nick confirmed, beginning to flip through the pages. "But it doesn't look like- there!"

"You found it?" Jekyll asked excitedly.

"It's called the Tablet of Ephialtes." Fury read. "Apparently, it has the ability to bringing individuals or objects from separate dimensions. Hell, for example. It can even take someone's greatest dreams- or worst nightmares- and pull them into the real world, as well as transport the master between dimensions."

"So that's what Krueger wants." Frank realized. "He wants to be able to pass through this world and the dreaming realm freely, without requiring someone to pull him through."

"And he possibly wants to bring Hell to Earth." Jekyll hypothesized. Suddenly, Henry arched his back in pain, causing Nick's eye to widen.

"Dammit." Fury cursed. "We need to get him to his office, now." Nick and Frank grabbed Jekyll's arms, and they began to rush him towards his secret room in the museum. Right before they got there, a loud crash was heard, and Fury looked behind him, seeing a gigantic sized beast with fur biting a Prodigium agent's head off.

"The Wolfman." Fury grit his teeth. "Castle, get Henry to his office!" Frank nodded, carrying Jekyll with him, while Fury stared the beast down. The Wolfman snarled, charging Fury, while he ducked and rolled out of the way of the creature's huge fists.

"What's in your office that's so damn important?" Frank grumbled, practically dragging the doctor with him.

"An… injector… four needles." Jekyll gasped, then shouted in pain. Frank looked over, seeing Henry's veins pop out of his skin, as well as his skin becoming gray. What was most alarming though, was that Jekyll's eyes changed to an unnatural red.

"I think this Krueger chap has the right idea." Jekyll said, in a thick cockney accent. Before Frank could do anything, Jekyll punched him in the face, and threw him into a display case.

"Doctor Jekyll?" Frank asked, as the man picked him up.

"Henry's not here, mate." The man sneered, grabbing Castle's right hand and breaking all five fingers, one by one. "Just me, Eddie Hyde."

Fury jumped out of the way of the Wolfman's attack again, this time running up the staircase next to him. Unfortunately, the beast quickly climbed up the outside of the stairs and landed right in front of Nick, growling furiously. Fury held his ground, uppercutting the creature, but the werewolf retaliated, picking Nick up and throwing him off the balcony, right into a glass case filled with guns and bullets. Dazed, Fury sat up, but looked over and noticed that some of the bullets were coated in silver. Nick smirked, and began loading his pistol, just as the Wolfman roared, jumping off the balcony and onto the floor.

"Say goodnight." Fury announced, and right when the Wolfman leapt at him, he fired, the silver bullet piercing the monster's skin and hitting the heart. The creature seemed to lose momentum from the jump, crashing onto the floor and a few feet away from Fury, who sighed in relief that he was still alive.

Meanwhile, Frank was being tossed around and getting the crap beaten out of him. Sure, he threw in a few good punches, but for the most part, Jekyll- or in this case, Edward Hyde- was beating him to a pulp.

"Come on, Frankie, do you really believe Fury's rubbish?" Hyde laughed. "I sure don't! Krueger's deal seems more enticing! Think about it! Chaos, death, and destruction! Just my cup of tea!"

"Go to Hell." Frank spat, and he tried to uppercut the mad doctor. Unfortunately, Hyde easily caught Castle's fist, and with a sickening twist, he bent the hand so far back, the wrist was snapped.

"Did you really think you stood a chance against me?" Hyde snickered. "That temporary cure wasn't even in Henry's office to begin with!"

"No, it was with me." Frank looked behind him, seeing a man with dark glasses and a cane standing in the middle of the museum.

"Red?" Frank asked, confused. The man appearing to be Matthew Murdock simply pulled out a glass vial and threw it at Hyde, who somehow caught it just millimeters from his chest.

"Missed." Edward grinned, but Frank suddenly got up and kicked the vial forward, causing the needles to pierce his chest and pump him full of a greenish-yellow liquid.

"Well done, Mister Murdock." Jekyll wheezed, now in his regular voice. "Thank you, Castle." Just when the doctor was about to collapse, Frank stuck his arm out, holding Henry up.

"What the Hell was that?" Frank asked.

"My dark side." Jekyll explained. "He's called Edward Hyde. It is a manifestation of my inner evil."

"I have a friend who had something like that a year ago." Castle mused, as Fury walked up to the three of them. Remembering that his old friend was there, Frank strode up to Matt Murdock and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"You never contacted any of us, but you're working with these ass clowns?" Frank yelled. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Elektra and I wanted to start anew. This is how we did it." Matt defended. "I meant to let you all know how we were doing. I really did."

"Time enough for that, Castle." Fury ordered, and Frank let go of Murdock. "Unfortunately, the book didn't say where the tablet was held."

"It is best to not keep all the pieces of the puzzle together, should one be found." Jekyll agreed.

"Then maybe Barclay can find that missing piece." Frank guessed, before turning towards Matt. "You could help us with this."

"I'm sorry Frank, but my place is here." Murdock said sadly.

"We should head back to the Dollhouse for the time being." Fury announced. "And Henry, I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of these creatures. Jarvis and Strode called earlier, and filled me in on getting into a fight with Frankenstein's monster."

"Some could say he was the prototype for the reanimated serum, before Herbert West perfected it." Jekyll realized.

"See if Prodigium can use the Wolfman's fluids to create a poison for vampires." Fury suggested. "I have a feeling we'll be seeing their king very soon…"

* * *

 _Oak Grove, Minnesota_

"So, how do you know these guys?" Andy asked, as he and Ash approached the suburban home.

"I was looking for the other Necronomicons, and I met them along the way." Ash recounted the family who lived there. "I trust they won't fuck anything up." Ash knocked on the door once, and it was instantly opened by a hulking pale beast with horns.

"Hey, are you the pizza guys?" The monster asked, but then he saw Ash, and quickly punched him in the shoulder. "Ash Williams! How the Hell have you been?"

"I've had better days." Ash muttered, rubbing his shoulder. "Not every day I wake up and thrown into fighting some hockey mask wearing fuck."

"Who's this monster?" Andy asked, pointing to the beast.

"I'm no monster!" The creature said, clearly offended. "I am Golan, the Insatiable! God lord terrible of Gkruool! Crusher of wills! IMPREGNATOR OF THE UNIMPREGNABLE!" Once the beast finished his monologue, Andy gave Williams the side eye.

"You sure we can trust this guy?" Andy asked.

"Sure. He's harmless." Ash shrugged, lighting a blunt. "As harmless as that doll."

"The fuck?" Andy exclaimed, but Ash and Golan were already going inside.

"Carole, guess who stopped by!" Golan called out, and a woman with red hair walked into the room.

"Ash?" Carole asked. "It's been a while!"

"Been nearly ten years since I've seen you guys." Ash agreed. "Where's Dylan?"

"I'm right here." Andy and Ash turned around, seeing a little girl around Alice's age behind them. Andy looked closer, noticing the girl had jet black hair, and mascara ran down her face like teardrops.

"Did you get me anything?" Dylan asked, grinning.

"Uh, yeah." Ash fumbled around in his pockets, eventually taking out a switchblade. "Here you go."

"Thanks Ash!" Dylan said excitedly, and she began running around the room as if she was hyped on sugar.

"So what's up?" Ash asked. "Where's Alexis?"

"She left a few years ago with Keith." Carole answered. "They talked about moving to Canada."

"Who's your buddy?" Golan asked. "Is he a hard drinker?"

"Sort of." Andy admitted. "Name's Andy Barclay. And we are here for a reason-"

"How about I get you boys some beers?" Carole interrupted, heading to the kitchen.

"Thanks honey." Golan smiled, before sitting on the couch.

"As I was saying, we need to borrow your book." Andy continued.

"The one that's a version of the Necronomicon." Ash added.

"You want to see the Gkruoolian Tome of Infinite Evil?" Golan asked, confused. "Eh, wouldn't hurt. The last time Dylan used it, I ended up giving birth!"

"You called, my lord?" Dylan announced, walking into the middle of the living room.

"Go get the book, Dylan." Golan ordered. Before another word was said, Dylan raced upstairs, grabbed the tome, and was back downstairs in a flash.

"Here it is." Dylan grinned. "Be sure to read page 36!"

"Yeah, nice try." Ash chuckled, as Andy began flipping through the pages. "It ought to be… here!"

"You found what Fury saw?" Ash asked.

"Yes. It's called the Tablet of Ephialtes. Huh, apparently it needs the blood of a 'corrupted' child to reawaken its powers." Andy explained. "And it's found… oh fuck."

"Where's it found?" Ash asked. Andy shut his eyes tight, before looking towards Williams.

" _Kandahar_."

An instant later, Andy's phone rang like crazy, and he quickly answered it.

"Hello?"

"Andy, thank God you picked up!" Nica's voice was heard. "Alice had another nightmare, and this time, the injury she sustained carried over into this world!"

"Krueger." Andy growled. Growing desperate, Andy looked towards Golan and Dylan, then to Ash. "Are you guys alright if my family stays here for a while? Please, I don't know what else to do."

"Yay! We're gonna have a slumber party!" Dylan screamed with glee.

"Thanks." Andy mouthed, and returned to speaking on the phone. "Listen, Nica, I want you to take a flight to Minnesota. Ash and I know a family who can protect you."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Andy. But I trust you." Nica promised, and the line went dead.

"So what now, Barclay?" Ash asked, drinking the beer Carole gave him.

"I don't know. I-" Andy squinted, looking just outside the windows to see some type of sea monster walking outside. "What the fuck is that?"

"Is that… the Gill-man?" Ash asked, narrowing his eyes. "I thought that thing was a fucking legend."

"That's because you've forgotten the first horrors." Golan said cryptically. The Gill-man ran towards the house, jumping through the window, and attacked Ash and Andy by throwing them across the room.

"Dylan! Read page 36!" Golan suggested, jumping in to help fight the creature. While the fight raged on, Dylan scrambled for the tome, and eagerly raid its pages.

" _Riads Eezer Buelor Sep Narf Escele!_ " Instantly, the stuffed animals sprang to life, and growing sharp teeth, they attacked the Gill-man. The creature screamed, as it was slowly eaten alive.

"When they're done, they won't come after us, right?" Andy asked, worried.

"No, of course not! At least, I don't think so…" Golan told him. "But oh well, that was fun!"

"It sure was something." Andy mumbled, and he turned on his communicator. "Fury, we found the location of the tablet. It's called the Tablet of Ephialtes, and it's located in Kandahar."

"Frank and I found out about the powers it grants." Fury told him. "Excellent work Barclay. Meet us back at the Dollhouse to discuss our next move."

"Copy that." Andy smirked, and shut off the communicator. "Thanks for your help, Golan and Dylan. Now, let's go, Williams. We have to stop Krueger and his pawns, and fast."


	7. Tomb Raiding

_The Dollhouse_

Andy and Ash walked into the bunker, noting that everyone else was already there.

"So, let me get this straight-" Tommy spoke up. "The thing we're looking for is called the Tablet of Ephialtes, it has to power to grant multi-dimensional travel, and can transport people and objects across different dimensions?"

"Exactly." Fury confirmed.

"And it's found in Kandahar?" Laurie added.

"Sounds about right." Ash said, opening another beer.

"What are we waiting for then?" Frank asked, getting up. "Let's go."

"Not yet." Fury stopped Castle. "We need to figure out a plan for this."

"Not really." Andy piped up. "Frank and I have been to Kandahar before. Send us."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Nick asked.

"No, but Frank and I know that place better than anyone else." Andy reasoned.

"I'm going with you." Ash interrupted. "I've had a history of treasure hunting."

"And going back in time." Andy muttered, but begrudgingly accepted the older man's help.

"What are the rest of us going to do?" Laurie asked, curious.

"Strode, you and Jarvis are with me." Fury informed. "We're going to get some answers from some old 'friends'." Andy smirked, gathered Frank and Ash, and the three headed towards a quinjet, while Fury, Tommy, and Laurie entered one of SHIELD's modified vans.

* * *

 _Oak Grove, Minnesota_

Nica and Alice approached the suburban home home in Oak Grove, where they were welcomed by Golan and Dylan Beekler.

"Greetings, new acolytes!" Dylan shouted. "You are now slaves to the god-lord Golan!" Before Nica or Alice could say anything, Carole stepped outside.

"Oh Dylan, that's no way to talk to our guests." Carole said happily. "Come in! Ash mentioned you two!" Nica and Alice followed the three inside, and were met by what appeared to be man-eating stuffed animals, with razor sharp teeth.

"What the fuck?" Alice asked, alarmed.

"What are those things?" Nica asked, horrified.

"They're our pets!" Golan grinned, as he and Dylan started to pet the mutated animals. "Don't worry, they only nibble!"

"Hey Alice, you wanna see my rat parts collection?" Dylan asked eagerly. "I was able to get enough to make a necklace!"

"Uh… sure!" Alice feigned enthusiasm, while giving her aunt a confused look. Alice then snapped her head back towards Dylan, and began following her up stairs. "So, who's Golan?"

"He's the god lord of Gkruool!" Dylan said excitedly. "I found an ancient book from where Carole works, and used it to summon him here years ago!"

"And he's not going to kill us?" Alice asked, surprised.

"Of course not, we're letting you become an acolyte!" Dylan smiled. "Soon, we will help Golan reclaim his throne in Gkruool!"

"You don't really believe all that, do you?" Alice asked. "You're the same age as me, if not a couple years older." Immediately, Dylan dropped the act.

"Yeah, I know. Sometimes, it's good to keep up appearances." Dylan admitted. "Golan's a great guy though. Even when I wanted to murder everyone when I was a kid, we were pretty harmless."

"Thank God." Alice exhaled, but upon seeing Beekler's puzzled expression, she continued. "Sorry. I just have a bad experience with demons or other supernatural beings. No offense to Golan."

"I'm sure he won't care." Dylan waved the comment away. "But what did you mean by that?" Alice sighed, looking out the window, before she decided to speak.

"Two years ago, I wanted to rescue my aunt Nica from a killer doll named Chucky." Alice began. "You might've heard about the doll on the news before, but he's real. Anyway, both of them were in a mental asylum, and my uncle Andy didn't want me to go. So… I improvised."

"What did you do? Dylan asked, curious.

"I transferred my soul into a doll, the same way Chucky did." Alice revealed. "I never counted on the fact that being in the doll would unlock my darkest emotions, and I used those to murder someone in cold blood." Alice closed her eyes. Even now, she could still hear Doctor Foley's painful screams as the flames licked his body, while her own maniacal laughter echoed in her mind. "I wanted to save my aunt, but in doing so, I became the very monster I wanted to stop."

"But you're clearly human again." Dylan pointed out. "That has to count for something."

"I don't know." Alice said solemnly, looking at the floor. "I know my uncle Andy had something similar happen to him, but it nearly tore him apart from the inside out."

"Maybe we pull it out of you first." Dylan suggested, getting an idea.

"What do you mean?" Alice asked, confused.

"There's probably a spell in there that can expel your inner demon." Dylan said excitedly, grabbing the tome and flipping through the pages. "Then you can kill it here-"

"NO!" Alice yelled. "What if it escapes and goes on a killing spree?" Dylan looked at Alice for a moment, before the gleeful look in her eyes vanished.

"You're right." Dylan realized, slumping her shoulders. "But sooner or later, you'll have to face your darkness."

"I know." Alice murmured, and looked blankly out the window.

* * *

 _The Fridge_

Fury, Tommy, and Laurie entered the Fridge through the roof, and descended in one of the many elevators.

"Who are we speaking with?" Laurie asked.

"Elliott Spencer." Fury answered. "I think he can shed light on all this." The group continued walking through the maximum security prison, eventually stopping at a cell that housed the former Hell priest.

"What can you expect to get out of him?" Tommy asked, bewildered at the reason they were at the prison.

"Hopefully, we can learn of the nature of the Tablet." Fury reasoned. "And possibly an answer to these more ancient monsters roaming around." With that, Nick entered Spencer's cell by himself, and greeted the former cenobite.

"How's the cell?" Fury asked gruffly. "Comfortable?"

"No, but I can manage." Elliott replied. "I have spent over a hundred years learning the many ways of torture and pain. This is nothing."

"I'd like to know why all these monsters from hundreds of years ago are suddenly popping up now." Fury announced folding his arms. "The Wolfman. Frankenstein's monster. Barclay told me he fought that creature from the Black Lagoon earlier. How are they all connected?" Upon hearing all those monsters listed off, Elliott chuckled.

"Those were the more ancient horrors. Ones that you have forgotten." Elliott explained. "In the new era, you've all forgotten what true horror is. And those weren't the last ancient evils."

"You referring to the king of vampires?" Nick asked. Spencer nodded.

"The Impaler, Dracula, is coming, as well as Imhotep." Elliott declared. "They have been recruited by Krueger, as they have a strange connection."

"What kind of connection?" Fury inquired.

"Dracula was the first one to have ever escaped my cenobites." Spencer revealed. "After he was killed in battle, blood was spilled over his place of death in another war. Vlad Dracula quickly fed off of other mortals. But unlike all the others who escaped Hell, he wanted more than just becoming whole again. After years of practicing black magic, Dracula discovered immortality through feeding, as well as other powers, but at the cost of certain weaknesses."

"Standard vampire weaknesses." Fury realized. "And what about the Mummy, Imhotep?"

"Imhotep was the very first Deadite." Elliott explained. "He willingly summoned the Kandarian Demon to possess him and give him immense power, causing him to conquer Egypt, before the Knights Templar seemingly defeated him with magic and the Egyptians mummified him alive." Fury began to feel nervous, and decided to change the subject.

"If you have been around for over a hundred years like you said, have you ever heard of the Tablet of Ephialtes?" Fury asked, and he noticed Spencer stiffen. "I see. What exactly is it?"

"The Tablet was created by none other than the Devil himself." Elliott revealed. "He had wanted to use it to bring Hell to Earth, but he required a soul from here to build it. Unfortunately for him, during the fifth crusade, some Knights found the Tablet and stopped the Devil and his disciple from completing their goal. The Tablet was locked away, where no man can find it."

"Must not be that hidden, because I know where it is." Fury said smugly. "I've already sent a few people to get it."

"You can't!" Elliott warned, his eyes growing wide. "If you use that power-"

"Relax, we're just capturing it so that Krueger won't get his bladed mitts on it." Fury quickly interrupted. "Thank you, Elliott Spencer, for the information. You have my gratitude." Fury got up and exited the cell, where he was met by Tommy and Laurie looking at him funny.

"What is it?" Nick asked.

"Maybe we shouldn't go after the Tablet." Tommy suggested.

"Not an option." Fury shot back. "If what Spencer said in there is true, that's all the more reason to get to it before Krueger does." Fury, Tommy, and Laurie walked back to the elevator, and the conversation on the way up was rather silent, except for Fury's talk with Jekyll.

"Henry, hurry up with that vampire poison, and throw in all the other standard weaknesses for good measure." Fury requested. "A reliable source confirmed that Dracula is coming for us."

* * *

 _Kandahar_

"We're approaching Kandahar now." Andy announced, as he began to land the quinjet just outside the city. "Fuck, this place brings back bad memories."

"So why the Hell did you volunteer to come?" Ash drunkenly asked.

"Because we're the only ones who know this place better than anyone else, asshole." Frank glared at the man twenty years his senior. Ash simply shrugged, and continued to drink his twelfth beer. Seconds later, the quinjet landed, and the trio quickly got out of the bird.

"Alright, Fury, where is the Tablet?" Andy asked in his comms.

"It's in underground, under the old Taliban fort you and Castle raided years ago." Fury informed him. "Your demon friend, Golan, was able to pinpoint the location with his magic." Andy shuddered, knowing full well about the fort.

"Shit." Frank muttered. "That place better be abandoned." Castle, Andy, and Ash walked through the town, thankful that they could use the darkness as cover.

Ten minutes later, the trio arrived at the fort, and upon entering, Andy and Frank led the way.

"Was there ever a lower level here?" Andy said aloud, lighting a flashlight, while Frank pulled out a pump action shotgun.

"Maybe." Frank mused. "We weren't really into exploring the last time." Andy, Frank, and Ash crept around corners, eventually finding the door leading to what looked like a cellar.

"Wait!" Ash shouted, causing the two younger men to turn back towards him. "The last time I entered a creepy cellar, all my friends died."

"Well, this time, we know what we're after." Barclay replied, kicking the cellar door open, and he descended into the basement area first. Once Ash and Frank followed, Andy shone his light across the room, revealing that the cellar was more like a tomb, with bodies everywhere. And in the middle of it was a large obsidian obelisk, with blood red writing on one side.

"The Tablet." Andy gasped, as Frank pulled out a large knife to chisel the stone out. "We found it."

"Good." The three turned around, seeing a grotesque corpse, wearing layers upon layers of gauze and bandages. "Give it to me."

"Imhotep?" Ash asked.

"You know me?" the Mummy asked.

"Of course, you're the very first Deadite!" Williams proclaimed. "You used the Necronomicon to gain your own power!"

"And now, you will die!" Imhotep declared, and he raised his hands towards the heavens. The ground began to shake, and a swarm of locusts flew down into the tomb, flying all around the trio.

"Jesus, fuck!" Andy shouted, batting the insects away from his face, while Frank and Ash did the same. Barclay began to run towards Imhotep, but the undead mummy backhanded him with supernatural strength, sending him crashing into one of the stone tombs. Ash tried to attack as well, but fared no better, even with his artificial hand.

"Got anything that'll harm this prick?" Frank asked, shooting at the mummy, but it apparently did no damage.

"What about this?" Ash replied, pulling out a unique looking dagger from his pants. Andy looked closer, noticing that the hilt was fashioned with a bone, and the end was shaped like a skull. "I'm surprised they found it, after having to kill that big ass demon last year."

"Where the Hell did you get that?" Andy asked.

"Fury gave it to me after we escaped Voorhees." Williams explained. "And I got a crazy, half-baked plan!" Ash started sprinting towards the mummy, while Frank and Andy caught on, realizing what he was planning. Imhotep telekinetically threw Andy in the air, causing him to crash into Frank, while Williams dove to the side. Once Ash regained his footing, he stabbed the Kandarian dagger into Imhotep's side, and without hesitation, brought the blade up and slashed the mummy's throat.

"You lose, asshole." Ash grinned, and the undead Egyptian dissolved into ancient dust, scattering across the winds.

"Well, that was some Indiana Jones bullshit." Frank muttered. "Back to work, right?" Andy nodded, and he, Ash, and Frank continued chiselling the tablet of the stone, eventually getting the written part out of the obelisk.

"Nice." Andy complimented, sticking the tablet in a bag for the time being. "Let's head back." Frank and Ash nodded, and together, the three of them left the fort and back to the quinjet, thankfully without getting into any trouble.

"We ready to go?" Andy asked, activating the quinjet. Upon hearing the other men's confirmations, Andy started the engine on the bird, and seconds later, they left the ground. Andy quickly steered in the direction back towards the United States, and as the quinjet began to fly, he set it on autopilot. The US was hours away, and he needed some type of rest…


	8. Things Fall Apart

Andy woke up to find himself in a padded white cell, with the door oddly hanging open. Confused, Barclay walked out and scanned his surroundings, seeing he was in the plain white hallways again.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me." Andy grumbled, realizing he was dreaming. With nothing else that he could do, Andy walked down the hallway towards Foley's office, and inside, he found a man with his back turned, wearing a black trenchcoat.

"Doctor Foley?" Andy called out. The man turned, revealing he wore a glove with blades on his right hand, and his face was covered in first degree burns.

"No, asshole." Freddy Krueger sneered. "Just me." Andy began backing away in fear, but felt a slight pain in his achilles. Groaning in pain, Barclay turned around momentarily, seeing a small doll with orange-blonde hair, and holding a knife. Andy's eyes narrowed for a second, before realizing the doll looked exactly like the one Alice transferred her soul into two years ago.

"What's wrong, Uncle Andy?" The Alice doll taunted. "Don't recognize your niece?"

"Alice? What have you done to her?" Andy accused Krueger.

"It's not what I've done- it's what I will do." Krueger cackled, and Andy blacked out.

"Barclay, wake up!"

Andy's eyes snapped open, seeing Frank right in front of him.

"Are you alright?" Castle asked. Andy looked down, feeling the back of his leg, and found what he expected- the wet, sticky texture of blood.

"I'm fine." Andy lied. "Just had a little nightmare."

"I know you're bullshitting. I know you." Frank revealed. "We'll sort this out later. We're approaching the Dollhouse soon." Andy nodded and looked out the quinjet cockpit, seeing the city of Chicago just below them.

* * *

 _The Fridge_

Elliott Spencer began to writhe in his cell's cot while he slept. He had hoped it wouldn't happen, but the former cenobite was actually experiencing a nightmare.

Elliott surveyed his surroundings, seeing nothing but an empty black void, with the sounds of rattling chains filling the air.

"What is this?" Elliott asked. Instead of a verbal reply, chains with hooked ends shot out of the darkness, latching onto Spencer's pale skin and pinning him in place. Elliott howled in pain, as he was lifted a foot above the ground. Elliott looked straight ahead, where the form of Freddy Krueger entered his view.

"Krueger." Spencer growled.

"You know, I feel like I should thank you." Freddy said, twitching his fingers and causing hundreds of needles to fly out and pierce the former Hell priest's body and face. "If you didn't kill that angel whore and get turned mortal, I probably wouldn't have been able to escape."

"What are you waiting for then?" Elliott asked. "DO IT!" Freddy complied, clenching his fist, and the chains tore Spencer's body apart, leaving nothing but bits of flesh and bone in its wake, as well as showering the darkness in gallons of blood.

"Consider that your homecoming." Freddy cackled.

Hours later, when SHIELD agents went to check on their prisoner, all they found was a cell covered in blood, and lying in the middle of it was the mutilated corpse of Elliott Spencer, now removed from the mortal coil.

* * *

Andy, Ash, and Frank entered the Dollhouse, where Barclay laid the tablet on a table in front of everyone else.

"There. We got the damn tablet." Andy growled. "Had to fight a fucking deadite to do it."

"Imhotep. I heard." Fury mused. "We still haven't found the king of vampires himself. But, on the bright side, Jekyll was able to send one of Prodigium's agents to deliver the one thing that can kill him three times over."

"Which is?" Ash asked nonchalantly, as Nick held up a bullet with a unique appearance.

"The bullet is encased in silver, with a glass tip." Fury explained. "Once it pierces Dracula's skin, the tip will shatter, releasing a toxin that is a mix of garlic juice and the Wolfman's fluids."

"You guys encountered the Wolfman?" Tommy asked, surprised.

"And we had to fight the doctor's evil twin." Frank grumbled. "Even saw Red."

"You guys get all the fun." Laurie muttered, looking at the floor. "All we did was fight Frankenstein's monster."

"Was this supposed to be a contest?" Andy asked out loud. "Where the Hell were you when we took a trip back to Kandahar?"

"I took Strode and Jarvis to the Fridge to speak with Elliott Spencer." Fury informed. "All he did was give us the rundown on why these creatures are with Krueger, as well as the full scale of the tablet's power."

"So, what are we going to do with it?" Ash asked.

"We're going to keep it under lock and key." Fury replied. "As tempting as it is, we can't risk using it. God knows I already tried that with the Tesseract years ago…"

"Yeah, and here I thought you wouldn't learn from that." Andy joked. "We all know Ashy Slashy here wouldn't."

"Hey, fuck off!" Ash shouted. "At least I didn't have issues from fighting a children's doll!"

"Whoa, hold up!" Frank interrupted, putting himself between Ash and Andy. "I don't think either of you know what the Hell you're talking about!"

"Stay out of this, Castle." Laurie chimed in. "It's not like you've actually seen what we've seen. You just took out a few jihadis in a shithole desert."

"Don't start, Strode." Frank warned. "Myers is just a man. He doesn't have magical powers or anything. He doesn't even know martial arts like Red." Laurie snarled, getting up from her seat and punched Castle, who proceeded to grab her arm and twist it behind her back. Meanwhile, Ash backhanded Andy with his fake hand, and Andy returned with a knee with the groin, followed by an elbow smashing into Williams' face.

"Okay, that's enough." Tommy announced, and he and Fury tried putting themselves between the four quarrelling team mates. Unfortunately, that had little effect, as Ash and Andy were still at each other's throats.

"We said enough!" Fury yelled, pulling out a pistol and shot at the ceiling. That did the the trick, and everyone else sat down, albeit glaring daggers at each other. "Listen, you guys might not like each other, but you need to act as a team!"

"Teams are built on trust." Andy mumbled. "And half of us don't trust each other." Before Fury could retort, he felt his communication device buzzing, and in a second, he activated the comm.

"Director Fury, it's Agent Hill." Maria's voice boomed in the communication device. "It's Elliott Spencer. We found his body mutilated in his cell. No signs of forced entry. It's like he spontaneously died."

"Krueger." Fury growled, and shut off the device. Suddenly, a large noise, that of an explosion rang off, rocking the bunker.

"What the fuck was that?" Andy demanded, holding onto Frank's shoulder for support.

"Someone, or something, has breached the Dollhouse." Fury realized, and tossed Andy the specialized bullet. "Could be Dracula."

"Do we have any backup?" Castle asked. Fury simply shook his head.

"No, it's just us right now." Fury said grimmly.

"Shit." Ash grunted, and pulled his boomstick off his back. "Let's get ready for a fight then."

"You got an armory?" Laurie asked, while loading a revolver. "'Cause we're gonna need more firepower."

"This is a bunker." Fury chastised. "Of course we do. Castle, Strode, with me."

"We'll try to hold off whatever is here." Andy told Nick. "Ash, Tommy, let's go."

"Who the Hell put you in charge?" Ash asked angrily.

"Listen Williams, I might not like you." Andy said harshly. "And I know damn well you don't like me. But we have to make sure that Fury makes it to whatever he's trying to get, so get up off your ass, and give me a God damned hand!" Ash narrowed his eyes and grit his teeth, but begrudgingly got up and followed Barclay and Jarvis out, while Fury's group went the opposite direction.

"Got an idea what's going after us?" Tommy asked, pulling out a bowie knife and holding it upside down.

"Not a fucking clue." Andy muttered, loading his glock. "But I'll contact Fury the minute we see them."

"Don't worry." Williams said casually, and pointed past Andy. "We're seeing them now." Andy looked up from his weapon, seeing a swarm of deadites and traditional zombies, led by none other than Dracula himself.

"Fury, Drac's here. And he's with a bunch of deadite assholes." Andy quickly said into his comms. "Get back here quick."

"Ah, we can take em." Ash shrugged, pulling out his boomstick and shooting at the king of vampires. Unfortunately, the the shotgun blast did nothing. Dracula didn't even stumble, and simply grinned a wicked smile.

"Perhaps if those shells were silver…" Dracula taunted, and rushed the trio with supernatural speed.

Fury, Strode, and Castle entered the armory, surveying a plethora of military grade weapons.

"I could come back here later." Frank whisteled. "If I had these back when I was taking down Rawlins…"

"Maybe next time." Fury promised, and took a chainsaw from one of the containers. "I know a guy who could use this." Strode didn't say anything, and just holstered a large hunting knife to her right leg, while taking a pump action shotgun. Frank began loading up on grenades and extra ammunition, when something caught his eye towards the back. Curious, Castle approached the backside of the armory, moving weapons and ammunition to find a massive cannon, with the coiled barrel glowing orange.

"What's this?" Frank asked, impressed.

"It's a prototype weapon, after the Destroyer showed up in New Mexico eight years ago." Fury explained. "Agent Coulson tried using it against Loki, but the god of mischief still escaped."

"If a bunch of zombies are here, maybe this'll be good for crowd control." Frank joked darkly, then handed Fury the large weapon. "Now let's go save our friends."

Ash rolled out of the vampire's way, shooting wildly into the sea of deadites, while Jarvis grabbed a nearby axe from a glass case and hacked away at the zombies. All the while, Ash tried in vain to fight Dracula, but was constantly thrown into the walls of the small corridor.

"We will swallow your souls!" One deadite screamed, grabbing Ash by the throat.

"Swallow this, asshole!" Ash retorted, as he took out the Kandarian dagger and plunged it into the deadite's mouth. Williams quickly recovered, aiming his boomstick at a deadite who was sneaking up on Tommy, and pulled the trigger, splattering the walls with brains. Jarvis turned around, nodding towards Ash, and without hesitation, he threw the axe at a zombie that was behind Williams. Right in the nick of time, Ash ducked and looked over to Andy, who was being choked out by Dracula.

"You fought valiantly, but you cannot fight what is already dead." Dracula smiled, revealing his fangs. "For I am evil incarnate! I am the prince of- darkness?" Dracula looked down in confusion, and noticed that the tip of the Kandarian dagger was poking through his chest. With a growl, the king of vampires spun around, dropping Andy and backhanding Williams, who flew into the other side of the hallway.

"Did you believe you could stop me with this?" Dracula gloated as he yanked the dagger out of his back. "This weapon has no effect on me!"

"I figured." Ash admitted. "I'm just the distraction." Dracula's eyes widened, and the count spun around. Even with his unnatural reflexes, it was too late. The gunshot already went off, and the last thing he saw was Andy Barclay holding a smoking gun. Dracula suddenly felt a sharp pain, and he looked down, noticing that the hole in his chest began leaking blood rapidly.

"No." the count moaned in agony. "It's not possible…" Dracula never finished his words, and he fell to the ground, finally among the dead. With the king of vampires defeated, Andy walked over to Ash while Tommy fought off the deadites and zombies, and offered his hand to help. This time, Williams gratefully took it.

"Thanks kid." Ash told Barclay, and the looked back towards the fight. "We might not actually get out of this. And coming from me, that's saying something."

"Good thing we showed up then." Ash and Andy looked past Jarvis, seeing the rest of their team had arrived, and with a few upgrades. Fury threw the chainsaw he took towards Ash, who jumped up and inserted his fake hand into it, as the weapon fit like a glove.

"That saw is made from vibranium." Fury called out, as he, Strode, and Frank began firing. "It can never break, and his much stronger than your last one."

"Groovy." Ash smirked, and began mowing down deadites. Laurie kept blowing zombies apart, Fury used the Destroyer weapon to clear a path to the rest of the team, while Frank did what came naturally, using his twin pistols to kill off the walking dead, and kicking their skulls in if they got too close. Eventually, after what seemed like ten straight minutes of carnage and having fallen back to the briefing room, the team finally managed to kill every single undead enemy.

"That was too close." Fury muttered, taking a seat out of exhaustion.

"We're still breathing." Frank reminded everyone. "We lived to fight another day." As soon as he said that, Frank felt a stabbing pain through his body, and he looked down, seeing a machete sticking out of his ribcage.

"Frank!" Andy yelled. Castle coughed up blood, and the machete slid out of him as he fell, revealing Jason Voorhees behind him. Andy, Laurie, Ash, and Tommy attempted shooting the undead monster, but Jason advanced, throwing a chair at everyone, and force them to scramble.

"Fuck!" Andy yelled, glaring at Fury. "Where's the Destroyer weapon?"

"I… left it back there." Fury mumbled, realizing he had forgotten the cannon. Jason strode over and picked up the tablet from the table, and simply left the Dollhouse without any difficulty, even with Tommy's best attempts to slow him down. Jarvis was about to go after him, but Fury called him back.

"No, wait!" Nick shouted. "One of ours is down!" While he was speaking, Andy knelt down next to his closest friend.

"Frank, it's going to be alright." Andy tried to comfort Castle. "You're going to make it."

"No, I won't." Frank coughed up blood. "But it's okay, Barclay. I would like to see my family again…"

"Frank, don't say it like that!" Andy shouted, as tears threatened to spill out. "We still need you!"

"Nah, you don't need me." Frank smiled weakly, and he gripped Andy's hand. "You can stop this. You have to."

"But I need your help to do it." Andy pleaded. "Please Frank, don't go. Not now!"

"You'll manage." Frank reassured his friend. "You fought a possessed doll for thirty years without me. You'll be fine. Just tell Karen… I still love her." Frank's body shuddered, and as he felt the cold hand of death claim him, Castle's eyes rolled to the side, and he uttered three final words:

" _I'm coming, Maria._ "


	9. Raising the Stakes

Andy slowly closed Frank's eyes, and laid his now dead body on the ground. As everyone went to sit back in the briefing room, Fury called in Maria Hill and other SHIELD agents to travel to the bunker to pick up Frank's body as soon as possible.

"So… what now?" Laurie asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't know." Fury said truthfully. "I'm all out of ideas. Those monsters barged into our house, took the tablet, and then killed one of our own. And we don't know where they even are."

"We weren't the right people for this." Ash mumbled, lighting a joint. "You should've called the big guns."

"Do you know why I didn't?" Fury asked. "I'll tell you why. After Stephen Strange made himself and sorcerer's known to the world, I realized there were threats the Avengers couldn't handle. I was hoping I could form a Task Force, codenamed Umbra, into fighting those threats. If not for yourselves, or even the world, you can avenge Frank Castle." At that point, Ash popped out of his seat and simply walked out of the briefing room. Andy gave Williams an odd look, before following him out.

Andy exited the bunker, and found Ash standing at the edge of the Dollhouse's landing pad.

"Was he married?" Ash asked, having heard Barclay's footsteps.

"Twice." Andy answered. "Karen, she… it'll break her heart."

"He seemed like a good guy." Ash added. "Would've loved to have a beer with him."

"He never drank." Andy informed. "He never even took painkillers. Only coffee."

"That's… well, that's a shame." Ash simply said, looking down.

"This the first time you lost a friend?" Andy asked. As soon as he said that, he regretted it, remembering full well both of their histories.

"I wouldn't exactly call myself either of your friends." Ash admitted. "Acquaintances, maybe. Both of you even earned my respect, something I've never given."

"Back when I was in the Marines, respect was earned by what we did." Andy noted. "Gotta say, you would've been a good soldier-"

"I'm not a soldier." Ash interrupted. "I never wanted to go out and save the world. Even when that Kandarian demon apocalypse kicked off in Elk Grove a couple years back, I had to be given a pep talk by my daughter to save the town."

"I didn't want to save the world either." Andy replied. "I certainly didn't want to be brought in by someone like Fury, because guys like him, they have blood on their hands too. But we need to put all that aside, and we have to work together to stop Krueger and his army of nightmares. Now, Golan's tome mentioned that the tablet requires a corrupted child's blood, but I don't know what that means-"

"They made it personal." Ash interrupted again.

"What?" Andy asked.

"They made it personal by killing your buddy." Ash elaborated. "That's the point of all this. Krueger had Jason go out of his way to kill Castle before stealing the tablet, when he could've just batted him aside like the rest of us. Why?"

"Because Castle was my best friend." Andy realized.

"Exactly." Ash continued. "He wants to hit you where it hurts. But why you? What did you do to piss him off?"

"Not sure." Andy confessed. "But if he wants to make it personal…"

"He could be going after your niece." Ash finished.

"Shit." Andy's eyes widened. "And she'd be the perfect sacrifice. Two years ago, Alice transferred her soul into a doll, just like Chucky, just like me. Even though it was only for a few hours, life inside the doll body was already changing her."

"Well, fuck." Ash muttered. "We'd better get back to Oak Grove, and fast."

* * *

After playing a horror themed video game called Outlast on Dylan's game system, the Beekler kid and Alice went back downstairs, where Nica and Carole were talking in the living room, and Golan was drinking heavily in the kitchen.

"My lord, shall we continue our plans to conquer this dimension?" Dylan asked.

"No, Dylan, I'm a bit bored of this dimension." Golan confessed, downing his beer.

"But Golan, we have a new acolyte!" Dylan complained, pointing to Alice.

"I said no, kid!" Golan snapped, throwing the bottle down and belching loudly. "Jesus, I'm just tired!"

"You're no fun anymore." Dylan grumbled. "Ever since we put down Penis, you've been mopey."

"Who the fuck is Penis?" Alice asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"That was the abomination Golan gave birth to." Beekler explained. "And he's been depressed after we had to send it to Hell."

"Hey, we all grieve in our own ways." Golan sniffed, and went to the fridge for another beer.

"It's been years!" Dylan shouted. "And don't forget, the only reason you got pregnant was because I wanted you to dropout of school so my sister wouldn't steal you away! Get over it!"

"Dylan, stop." Alice ordered. "Six years ago, my entire family was murdered. You think I've gotten over it?"

"Maybe…" Dylan murmured, but Alice wouldn't hear it.

"In a way, I haven't." Alice revealed. "My uncle and I managed to hunt down the monster who killed my parents, but there has still been an empty hole in my life."

"Look, I'm sorry." Dylan tried to make amends. "I didn't mean-"

"It's fine." Alice muttered, and went back to the living room, where she found Nica on her phone.

"Okay, thanks Andy." Nica said into her cellphone. Alice listened closer, noticing that her aunt sounded nervous. "Just get here soon."

"Aunt Nica, what's going on?" Nica turned around, widening her eyes in surprise.

"Alice, we have to get you somewhere safe-" Nica never finished what she said, as the door to the Beekler's house was kicked down, and in walked a man wielding a kitchen knife, wearing a boiler suit and plain white mask.

"Oh my God."

* * *

Andy and Ash went back inside the Dollhouse, where Laurie, Tommy, and Fury were waiting.

"We found out what Krueger and his pals are going to do next." Andy announced. "He's going after my niece."

"Why would he do that?" a skeptical Laurie asked.

"Because Freddy requires a corrupt kid's blood to unlock the Tablet of Ephialtes." Ash explained. "And it just so happens, the kid qualifies."

"Dammit." Fury cursed. "I'll monitor you guys. Go save the girl." Andy nodded, and he loaded his pistol and stored his brass knuckles and pocket knife, while Laurie grabbed her shotgun from the table. As Tommy picked up extra clips for his machine gun, Ash reattached the new chainsaw to his fake hand, and strapped his boomstick onto his back.

"This is it." Andy declared. "Let's go save the world." With that, the four of them headed outside and towards the quinjet, confident they could stop Freddy Krueger and his companions, once and for all.

* * *

Michael Myers barged into the Beekler's home, quickly batting Carole away as if she was a mere fly. Nica jumped off the couch, continuously firing the gun Andy gave her last Christmas, but they had little effect. Michael kept walking, and once he was at arm's length, he reached out and backhanded Nica to the floor, knocking her out for the moment. Throughout all this, Alice stood rooted on the spot, horrified at what was happening.

Michael advanced, slapping Carole away, while Dylan pulled out her favorite switchblade and ran towards the Shape like a murderous psycho. Myers remained unfazed, and when the Beekler girl jumped up, Michael reached out with his left hand, grabbing Dylan by the throat and lifting her up a foot in the air.

"Dylan!" Golan yelled, and he began running at the exact moment Myers raised his knife to kill the teenager. Golan kept running, and at the last moment, when Michael's blade was mere inches from Dylan's heart, Golan pushed her out of the way, taking the knife to the chest.

"No!" Dylan screamed. Having set his sights on a new victim, Michael began to repeatedly stab the demon with a speed that shocked everyone. After dozens more stab wounds, Golan fell over, convulsing in pain, while Michael strided over to Alice and wrapped his arm around her waist, before heaving her over his shoulder and walking out of the house.

"Let me go, you bastard!" Alice kicked and screamed, but the Shape didn't react, and kept on walking.

* * *

Andy, Ash, Laurie, and Tommy landed the quinjet in Oak Grove as fast as they could, and Andy raced towards the Beekler's house, only to find the door broken down.

"Oh, shit." Andy gasped, as he pulled out his pistol and ran inside. Barclay barged through the doorway, finding Carole and Dylan Beekler kneeling beside a bloody Golan, while Nica laid on the ground, unconscious. "Oh my God, Nica!" Andy quickly approached his wife, as Williams, Jarvis, and Strode caught up with him and went to help Dylan.

"Nica, wake up." Andy begged, checking his wife's pulse and becoming overjoyed when he found one, albeit faint. "Nica, please. Wake up!" Andy shook Nica by the shoulders, and her eyes suddenly snapped open.

"What happened?" Nica asked, confused. "And how'd you get here?"

"We just showed up." Andy replied. "Do you remember anything?"

"Michael Myers showed up." Nica recounted. "He knocked me out… where's Alice?"

"He took her." Dylan revealed. "And he killed Golan!"

"Can't he just regenerate?" Ash asked. "I've seen him down that shit before."

"Myers damaged the heart beyond repair." Dylan sniffed. "He can't come back from this." Andy looked over, seeing the god lord's maimed corpse, and shuddered. If Myers could do that to a to a trans dimensional demon, what was he doing to Alice?

"Is there any way we can track Krueger, or any of his friends?" Andy asked desperately.

"There might be… Dylan, do you still have the Gkruoolian Tome of Infinite Evil?" Ash asked the girl, who shut Golan's eyes. Having lost her voice from crying too hard, Dylan simply nodded, and rushed upstairs to her room to get the book. Minutes later, she came back, and shoved the tome into Ash's chest.

"Just avenge Golan." Dylan whispered. "Please."

"Don't worry." Laurie comforted the Beeklers. "We will."

"So what are you trying to do, Williams?" Tommy asked.

"If the spells are the same as the original Necronomicon, then…" Ash flipped through pages, eventually finding the one he wanted. "Here! _Klaatu, Verata, Nikto!_ " The wind began howling, anything not nailed down in the living room was thrown around, and when the dust settled, a see through individual, illuminated by a blue aura, stood in front of Andy and his friends. Andy, Tommy, and Laurie stared at the ghost, confused, but Ash seemed to know who it was.

"Hello Nancy." Ash greeted. "I'd shake your hand, but you'd fall right through."

"Ash Williams." Nancy Thompson stated. "Why have you summoned me this time?"

"You've done this before?" Tommy asked.

"I need to know where Krueger is." Ash got down to business, ignoring Jarvis' question. "You still have a hotline from the dreamworld, right?"

"Of course I do." Nancy snapped, and closed her eyes, focusing on the dreaming. Once she finally opened her eyes, Thompson announced, "Krueger has had Michael Myers bring Alice to his old house in Springwood, Ohio."

"I know where that is." Tommy spoke up. "Come on, I'll tell you guys on the way."

"Wait!" Andy interrupted. "Didn't you fight Krueger before? How'd you beat him?"

"I simply pulled him out of my dream into the real world." Nancy replied. "I'll try to hold him off as long as I can, but you should hurry. Krueger is close to gaining ultimate power." And with that, Nancy Thompson vanished in a blinding blue light, stunning everyone. Andy was the first to recover, and signaled for everyone to move out. As Ash, Tommy, and Laurie were leaving, Andy approached Nica and Dylan.

"I'm sorry I brought this pain on you." Andy told the girl. "I wish I could have done something more."

"Just make sure those monsters can't hurt anyone else." Dylan told Barclay. Andy simply nodded, and turned to his wife.

"Nica, I know it's a lot to ask, but please, stay here." Andy pleaded. "I will come back with Alice. I promise."

"Andy, you know I would always want to join you in protecting my niece." Nica started to say, and gave him her last syringe filled with adrenaline. "But, I love you enough to trust you." Nica got up and walked over towards Andy, and the couple leaned in and kissed passionately, until Ash whistled for Barclay to hurry up.

"I will see you again." Andy promised, and then he and the rest of the team departed for Springwood.

* * *

Alice opened her eyes, finding her in a darkened mental institution, with the lights flickering on and off, as well as seeing blood on the walls.

"Not again…" Alice grumbled, walking through the halls and finding Doctor Foley's office. At first, Alice thought against entering, but remembering that it was just a dream, she opened the door, seeing a man in a grey coat, with a bladed glove.

"Freddy." Alice gasped. Freddy Krueger turned around, smiling sinisterly, and tipped his fedora.

"Ready for your appointment, bitch?" Krueger cackled. Alice began backing away, but tripped over something behind her and fell to the floor, prompting Freddy to advance. Alice looked up, seeing that the thing that tripped her was the doll version of herself, grinning maniacally and fiddling with a knife.

"Hiya, sis." The Alice doll joked. "Miss me?"

"Not even for a second." Alice retorted, and was about to get up, but discovered she couldn't move. Alice quickly looked around, noticing she was now on an operating table, and was chained to the metal bench.

"Fuck." Alice groaned. Freddy grinned, ready to spill Alice's blood, when a blue ghost appeared in front of him.

"Enough, Freddy." The ghost spoke. "You will do no more harm."

"Jesus, Nancy." Freddy rolled his eyes, quickly swiping through Nancy's non corporeal form, and watched as she disappeared. "When are you going to learn that I have all the power here?"

"What do you want, asshole?" Alice spat.

"Unlimited power. What else?" Freddy asked sarcastically. "Soon, I will no longer be limited by just this realm!" Freddy and the Alice doll began laughing hysterically, and all Alice could do was pray that Andy and his friends would show up.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up…"


	10. The Battle of Springwood

The moment Tommy landed the quinjet in Springwood, Andy shot out of his seat and began rushing into the street.

"Barclay, wait!" Laurie called out, placing her hand on Andy's shoulder. "We need to be smart about this."

"Like Hell we do!" Andy shot back. "Krueger has my niece!"

"And if you want her back, you'll need a plan." Tommy told him, jerking his thumb towards 1428 Elm Street, the house Krueger was held up at. "Especially since Myers and Voorhees are waiting like guard dogs." Andy looked past Jarvis' thumb, seeing that indeed, Michael and Jason were waiting just outside the house. Oddly enough, there was a single pitch black raven perched on the Elm Street sign.

"Hey, like I've always said, shoot first, ask questions later." Ash shrugged, loading his boomstick.

"Alright, here's the plan." Andy announced. "Strode, Jarvis, you guys take on Michael and Jason. I'm pretty sure you're both itching for revenge, so here's your chance."

"Here." Ash tossed Tommy the Kandarian dagger. "Take it."

"How will this help?" Jarvis asked.

"Jason is a deadite." Ash reminded everyone. "That should kill him just fine."

"Ash, you and I are going into the house." Andy continued. "We have to do sweep top to bottom. Watch my back in case that chainsaw wielding maniac shows up."

"Will do." Ash replied, revving up his chainsaw.

"Okay." Andy announced, cocking his pistol. "Let's move out." The group of four began walking towards the Elm Street house, with each of them becoming more confident as they looked towards their teammates and friends. Once they finally arrived, Michael and Jason started to move, but Laurie and Tommy quickly advanced, engaging their lifelong nemesis' in a battle to the death.

"Go!" Tommy shouted to Ash and Andy. "We'll hold them off as long as possible!" Andy and Ash nodded, and they quickly ran inside. When the two entered the house, Ash pulled out his boomstick, while Andy took out his pistols.

"Should we split up?" Andy suggested.

"I got your back." Ash told Barclay. "Holler if you find someone." Andy nodded, and the two went in opposite directions, beginning to comb through the rooms.

Back outside, Laurie and Tommy were holding their own against Michael and Jason, but it didn't take long for them to feel tired.

"Come on, Jason." Tommy taunted, repeatedly shooting Jason in the chest. "You couldn't even kill me as a boy. You can't possibly kill me now." Jason said nothing, and instead swung his machete. Tommy ducked under the blade, then swept his leg to trip the Crystal Lake killer. Jason went down like a ton of bricks, and Tommy took the borrowed time to look up at Laurie, to make sure she was holding on.

"Michael, this is the end." Laurie announced, pulling out her bowie knife and stabbing Myers in the thigh, before jumping back from almost being punched. "Only one of us is making it out of here alive." If Michael understood what Strode said, he didn't let her know, and simply pulled out the bowie knife and threw it onto the ground. Myers advanced towards Strode, taking out his own knife, while Laurie began backing away, having just ran out of ideas.

Back in the house, Ash and Andy kept searching room to room, but came up empty handed.

"Nothing." Andy grumbled, before looking towards Ash. "You?"

"Nada." Ash shrugged. "Then again, the last creepy house I was in, all the weird shit was in the basement." Just then, as if on cue, Leatherface burst through the basement door, screaming like a child.

"Bingo." Andy grinned. Leatherface screeched, charging towards the pair, but Ash brought his chainsaw up, parrying the cannibal's own weapon and locking chainsaw blades.

"Get down there!" Ash yelled. "I'll hold off this prick!" Andy saluted in thanks, and ran past Leatherface, going down the stairs and finding himself in what looked like a boiler room. Andy shuddered, marvelling at the room, before seeing Alice lying down in the middle of the room.

"Oh God." Andy whispered in shock, running towards his niece. Barclay closed the distance between himself and Alice, and checked for her pulse, thankful he found one.

"Alice, you have to wake up." Andy pleaded. "Please! Wake up!"

* * *

Deep in Alice's mind, she heard her uncle's begs for her to wake up, but as hard as she tried, she remained in the dream.

"Oh, this is perfect." Freddy cackled. "Not too long now, before I will be free!"

"What are you talking about?" Alice asked.

"We need to be pulled into the real world by someone who's dreaming." The doll explained, grabbing onto Alice's arm. "And once your idiot uncle force's you awake, we'll be free to claim the tablet!" Freddy grinned, and held onto Alice's other arm.

"Uncle Andy, don't!" Alice screamed, but given she was dreaming, her plea wasn't heard by her desperate uncle.

* * *

Andy kept shaking Alice by her shoulders, but she still wouldn't open her eyes. While he was running out of options, Andy took out the adrenaline syringe Nica gave him. He knew that he was supposed to be used for heart attacks, but he didn't know what else to do.

"Sorry, Alice." Andy murmured, and stabbed the syringe into Alice's chest. A second later, Alice's eyes snapped open, and she gasped in shock, as Freddy Krueger and Alice's doll suddenly appeared out of thin air.

"Krueger." Andy mumbled, feeling shivers run down his spine. Freddy stood up, cracked his neck, and turned around, smiling like a madman.

"I played you all like fiddles." Freddy boasted, stepping towards Andy threateningly. "Time to gut you like a pig!"

"Why are you doing this to my family?" Andy asked. "What did we do to you?" Freddy looked at Andy for a moment, grinning like a madman.

"You and your precious wife killed someone who was a dear friend of mine." Freddy revealed. Andy stiffened.

"Chucky." Freddy smirked and nodded, before he brandished his bladed glove.

"After I kill you bitches, nothing will stop me from absolute power!"

* * *

Laurie kept backing away, tripping over a rock and fell to the ground. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Michael lunged forward, stabbing his knife downward towards Laurie, who rolled to the side at the last second. The kitchen knife hit nothing but dirt, and Laurie smirked, headbutting Michael and kicking his legs out from under him. Michael face planted, and Laurie quickly pulled the knife out of the ground, before kicking Michael in the face. As Myers was kicked again, his body rolled onto his back, and Strode plunged the knife into his heart, and continued stabbing him for a straight minute. Finally, the hole was made big enough for Laurie to stare into the chest cavity, where the heart was completely destroyed from the assault.

"Happy Halloween, Michael." Laurie whispered, as Michael's body went still. Just for good measure, Laurie pulled out her gun, loading it with one last clip, and emptied the ammunition into Michael's head to the point that a large hole formed, shredding the mask and destroying Myers' skull. Once she was confident that Michael was dead for good this time, she looked towards Tommy, as he was still fighting Jason.

Tommy Jarvis continued fighting Voorhees, parrying the machete with his own axe. Jason tried slashing at Jarvis, but he quickly rolled and dodged, using his agility to balance the slasher's strength. The evenly matched fight ended when Jason slashed to the side, catching Tommy and sending him flying into a tree. Jarvis crashed into the wood, and Jason advanced quickly, driving his machete into Tommy's shoulder. Tommy groaned in pain, but smirked when Jason leaned in close.

"Time to die, asshole." Tommy taunted, taking out the Kandarian dagger and stabbing Jason in the chest. Jason stumbled back, for once registering the pain, and Tommy took the knife and slashed across Jason's neck, cleaving his head off easily. For a moment, Jason's body remained still, but then fell to the ground, dead for good. Tommy gritted his teeth, pulling the machete out slowly, and approached Laurie.

"You alright?" Tommy asked, tossing the machete to the side.

"Never better." Laurie muttered, and loaded her revolver. "Let's get in there and finish this."

* * *

Ash Williams was quickly gaining the upper hand against his crazed foe, continuously blocking Leatherface's chainsaw and slashing his arms or legs. Each time a cut or bruise was delivered, the human skin wearing maniac screamed in pain, but continued fighting. After a few more blows, Ash decided to end the duel, and pulled out his boomstick.

"You're nothing." Williams taunted, preparing to shoot the cannibal. "I've shit out harder turds than you, not to mention actual demons I've killed." The second Ash finished his monologue, he pulled the trigger, blowing off half of Leatherface's actual face and head, and there wasn't a doubt in his mind that the sick cannibal had kicked the bucket.

Ash smirked to himself, as Tommy and Laurie came inside the house.

"I see you didn't need our help." Laurie noted, staring at the dead body of Leatherface.

"Hey, I've held my own against deadites." Ash reminded the two, before pointing towards the basement door. "C'mon, Andy's down there."

* * *

Andy pulled out his pocket knife, blocking Krueger from slashing his stomach and engaged in a knife fight. All the while, he tried shooting the dream demon, but Freddy expertly dodged the bullets in the nick of time.

Across the room, Alice threw her doll doppelganger off her and into a pipe, causing steam to burst out.

"You little bitch." The doll sneered, pulling out a switchblade. "I'm going to cut you up into tiny little pieces for that!" The doll leaped towards Pierce, swiping the blade in a wide arc, but Alice sidestepped and kicked the plastic toy away. The doll groaned, dropping the switchblade, and Alice in turn picked it up. Seeing its chance, the doll ran back to the table Alice laid on, where the Tablet of Ephialtes resided, and grinned at Alice.

"Come on, then." The doll taunted. "Do it!" Alice's emotions took over, and despite Andy calling her to wait, she charged towards her doll counterpart, stabbing it in the chest with the switchblade.

"I beat you." Alice declared. "I killed my demon."

"Perhaps…" The doll coughed up blood, and grinned. Confused, Alice looked down, watching as the doll's blood came into contact with the tablet, and the writing began to glow crimson. "But Krueger and I figured if my blood was spilled, it would still work." The doll began to laugh coldly, and Alice furiously threw the doll into the burning furnace. As her doll screamed, Alice ran over and slammed the door shut, blocking the way out. Even as it moaned, Pierce could have sworn the screaming sounded more like laughing, and she involuntarily shivered in fear.

As Andy watched his niece destroy her physical dark side, Freddy grinned, and used the distraction to slash Andy in the chest and kick him to the ground.

"Damn, she's a chip off the old block." Freddy joked. "Too bad you weren't the block." While Andy clutched his chest in pain, Krueger walked over to the tablet and cut his own hand, allowing the blood to mix with the Alice doll's blood and activate the tablet's powers.

"Finally, I am no longer limited to only the dreaming world!" Freddy laughed victoriously. "I am now a god!" Just then, Ash, Laurie, and Tommy arrived down the stairs, watching as Freddy was filling up with power.

"Shit." Ash muttered. "Who opened the Necronomicon?"

"Fury, Krueger bonded with the tablet." Andy said into his earpiece. "Got any ideas?"

"None." Fury replied through the earpiece. "The last time I looked for another way, New York was nearly nuked to Hell."

"Fuck." Andy grumbled, before turning to his team. "Anyone?"

"Just one." Ash answered, and closed his eyes. " _Klaatu, Verata, Nikto!_ " Ash opened his eyes, and Nancy Thompson's ghost re appeared to everyone.

"What is it this time, Williams?" Nancy asked coldly, but then looked towards Freddy, who used newfound telekinesis powers to throw everyone across the room.

"Krueger has the tablet." Andy gasped. "How do we stop him?"

"I will try to slow him down to give you time to kill him." Nancy promised, quickly flying over towards Freddy and temporarily possessing his body. As Krueger's body went stiff with small movement, Andy heard Freddy say in Nancy's voice, "Hurry! He's already fighting my control!"

Andy slowly made his way towards Freddy, having difficulty with even walking due to the wind howling too hard. Each step he took, Barclay had to fight being thrown back, while Freddy's movements became slightly less rigid. Right when Andy was about to punch Krueger, temporarily breaking his connection, Freddy slashed at him and reached into his chest, ripping out Nancy's soul.

"You filthy whore." Freddy sneered, slashing through Nancy and causing her to disappear again. "You thought you could stop me?!" Andy recovered from the attack, but it was too late, as Freddy telekinetically picked him up and began choking him.

"I'm going to enjoy killing your little bitch." Freddy sneered. Krueger began laughing, but suddenly, out of nowhere, the Kandarian dagger flew past both Barclay and Freddy, embedding itself into the tablet. Freddy looked at the stone in horror, as cracks began to form and enlarge, until the slab exploded in bright crimson light.

"No!" Freddy screamed, clutching his chest in pain. Andy slowly got up, looking back at Ash and nodding in thanks, before turning back to the Springwood Slasher.

"You've lost, Krueger." Andy declared, pointing his pistol at Freddy's face.

"Please, have mercy." Freddy begged. "Please! He made me do it! He's to blame!"

"Fuck you." Andy said coldly. "My birthday present became possessed and killed my babysitter when I was six. What's my excuse?" Before Krueger could reply, Andy emptied the pistol clip into Freddy, filling his body with holes and showering the back wall with blood and brains. Once the adrenaline rush left Andy's body, he collapsed to his knees, remembering that just hours ago his best friend had died. Andy shut his eyes tightly, trying hard to forget about it, but someone tugged on his arm. Reluctantly, Andy turned around to find Alice there, who wrapped her arms around her uncle.

"Thank you." Alice whispered. "I knew you'd save me. Aunty Nica...?"

"Is alright." Andy told her, but suddenly got a buzzing in his ear.

"Barclay, report!" Fury demanded. "What the Hell is going on?"

"Nick, we won." Andy replied. "Krueger's dead for good this time, and the tablet is destroyed."

"That's… that's good." Fury said in a low voice. "Listen, about Castle…"

"It wasn't your fault." Andy reassured him. After a few more minutes of silence, Andy got up, still holding onto Alice, and turned to his team. Barclay opened his mouth to speak, but he more addressed his niece than his friends.

"Let's go home."


	11. Epilogue: The Face of Darkness

_One Week Later_

 _New York_

"I first met Frank Castle when we were in the marines." Andy Barclay began his eulogy, looking around the church. In the front row was Karen Page-Castle, of course, right next to Nica and Alice. Behind them were Jessica Jones and Trish Walker, Luke Cage and Claire Temple, Danny Rand and Colleen Wing, and even Matt Murdock and Elektra stopped by, upon hearing the news. Further back were the Lieberman family, and in the final pew were Ash Williams, Laurie Strode, Tommy Jarvis, and finally, Nick Fury. "I found him reading a book, which truth be told, I didn't know he could read." The comment earned a few chuckles from everyone, and Barclay continued.

"At first, he and I got off on the wrong foot, but he quickly warmed up to me after we were put in the same squad. It wasn't until that day in Kandahar that we had to trust each other with our lives. On that day, we became more than friends- we became brothers.

"Frank Castle was a good man from the beginning. Two years ago, he saved my wife from Wilson Fisk. He's also saved me countless times. If nothing else, we should all be happy for him, for he is finally home with his children." Andy tensed, realizing what he said could sound offensive, and looked at Karen, but she was smiling and crying tears of joy. Andy swallowed, before finishing.

"Frank Castle was a good man, a good father- and the best brother I ever knew."

* * *

Soon enough, the service ended, and Andy found himself being flagged down by Fury, as well as his other teammates.

"The world owes you a debt." Fury declared. "No- I owe you all a debt. One that I can't possibly pay back. On the bright side, the task force can be disbanded, now that the threat is eliminated."

"You're an asshole, Fury." Ash mumbled, and began leaving the church. "I have to find my daughter and her friends."

"And I need to get back to my own family." Laurie chimed in, beginning to leave as well.

"Look, I don't care if you guys don't like me." Fury growled. "But can I can't on you guys to help again?"

"I can't speak for Williams or Strode, but I can tell you; I'll be there." Andy stuck out his hand, and Fury generously shook it.

"So will I." Tommy Jarvis added, and the three went their separate ways

* * *

Creighton Duke sat at his computer, looking through SHIELD's database on files on the supernatural, when Nick Fury approached him.

"What is it, Director Fury?" Duke asked, knowing Fury would need something.

"The task force worked." Fury announced. "But I'm considering putting another together, and I'd like you to be apart of it."

"How?" Duke asked, gesturing towards his wheelchair. "I'm not exactly at peak condition."

"Not without this." Fury reached into his coat and pulled out a small computer chip, no bigger than his thumb. "This will bridge the gap in your spine, and allow you to walk again. My engineers just perfected it." Duke looked up in shock, before grinning.

"Well, let's get to it."

* * *

On a dark and stormy night in Baltimore Maryland, a raven as black as night flew towards a house on Amity Street. Upon arriving at it's destination, the raven entered a window in the upper level that was opened slightly. The raven climbed into the room, revealing it as a bedroom, and slowly took the form of a man with messy hair and moustache. After closing the window, the man slammed his hands onto his writing desk, causing an ink well to tip over and pour the black fluid all over the wood.

"Krueger was defeated." The man hung his head low, and turned back towards his bed, where an enormous book, with old pages and an ebony leather cover lay. The book was locked, with the clasp resembling that of a raven. "He failed to complete his task, and he lost the tablet that would prepare this world for what I will do." The man seethed in rage, and quickly grabbed the book with both hands.

"It is time to remind the world what true horror is."

 _The End_


End file.
